BX  8388  .M98  1843  C.2 
Musgrave,  G.  W.  1804-1882. 
The  polity  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  in  the 


6 


Digitized  by 

the  Internet  Archive 

in  2014 

https://archive.org/details/polityofmethodis02musg 


TIIH 


P 


O  L  I  T  Y 


OF  THE 


METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 


OF  THE  SPURIOUS  ORIGIN  OF  METHODIST  EPISCOPACY:  THE  TY- 
RANNICAL NATURE  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT  AND  DISCIPLINE  OF 
THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH  :  THE  UNJUST  AND  DAN- 
GEROUS CONTROL  OF  CHURCH    PROPERTY  BY  THE  CLERGY  OF 

THAT  SECT  :  THE    SUPERIOR    PROVISION    MADE    FOR  THEIR 

TEMPORAL  SUPPORT  :  THE  MODE  OF  RAISING  THEIR  SUPPLIES  '. 

 THE  MORAL    MACHINERY    OF    METHODISM,   ITS  RELIGIOUS 

CHARACTER,  FRUITS,  &C.  &C. 


BY  REV.  G.  W.  MUSGRAVE, 

Bishop  of  the  Third  Presbyterian  Church  of  Ealtimore. 


"  The  opinion  that  it  is  dangerous  to  oppose  fanaticism,  lest  we  hinder  the  work  of  God, 
is  most  unfounded." — Dr.  Alexander,  page  301. 

"  Well,  as  they  insist  upon  it,  they  skall  have  it and  if,  in  exhibiting  the  proof,  any 
damage  should  be  done  to  those  who  have  so  pertinaciously  insisted  upon  its  exhibition,  on 
them—  not  on  me— must  rest  the  responsibility.'7 — The  Author,  pp.  17  and  18. 


IN  THE  UNITED  STATES: 


BEING 


AN  EXPOSURE 


jBaltimorc : 


PRINTED  BY  RICHARD  J.  MATCHETT. 


1843. 


Entered  according  to  the  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1843,  by  George 
W.  Musgrave,  in  the  Clerk's  office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United 
States  for  the  District  of  Maryland. 


CONTENTS. 


INTRODUCTION. 

Origin  of  the  work, — Correspondence  between  "  A  Methodist"  and  the 
Author,— Remarks  on  the  foregoing  correspondence.— The  spirit  and 
manner  of  the  performance,  &c.  &c— pp.  9—25. 


CHAPTER  I. 

METHODIST  EPISCOPACY. 

lis  dubious  origin, — in  all  probability  "  surreptitiously"  introduced. — If 
understood  in  the  prelatical  sense,  it  is  utterly  spurious  and  invalid, — 
if  not  regarded  as  prelatical,  the  manner  in  which  it  is  spoken  of  is 
supremely  ridiculous. — The  application  of  "  Bishop"  Coke  to  Bishop 
White  for  re-ordination. — The  validity  of  the  Presbyterial  ordination 
of  Methodist  preachers.— The  admissions  of  Bishop  White  relative  to 
the  validity  of  Presbyterial  ordinations. — According  to  the  Scriptures 
there  is  but  one  permanent  order  of  ministers  in  the  church  of  Christ, 
—pp.  27—56. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  II. 

GOVERNMENT  AND  DISCIPLINE. 

The  government  is  anti-republican,  because  all  the  legislative  and  exec- 
utive power  is  in  the  hands  of  their  clergy — the  laity  have  no  represent- 
ation in  the  General  or  Annual  Conference,  and  of  course  have  no 
voice  in  the  Government. — The  discipline  is  tyrannical,  because  the 
members  are  amenable  to  any  rules  and  regulations  which  it  may  please 
their  clergy  from  time  to  time  to  agree  upon — and  because  the  usual 
forms  of  law  and  justice  are  not  constitutionally  prescribed  and  secur- 
ed in  the  trial  of  church  members, — such  a  system  is,  in  its  tendency, 
dangerous  to  public  liberty  and  the  free  institutions  of  the  land. — The 
truly  republican  character  of  the  government  and  discipline  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church. — pp.  57 — 96. 


CHAPTER  III. 

CLERICAL   CONTROL  OF   CHURCH  PROPERTY. 

The  Methodist  meeting  houses  and  parsonages  under  the  control  of  the 
itinerant  clergy.— Deed  of  settlement  analyzed.— Unanimous  opinion  of 
seven  lawyers — and  the  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Pennsylvania. 
— The  chartered  fund  and  book  concern  also  under  the  entire  control  of 
the  clergy. — Printed  circular  of  1842,  showing  the  capital  of  the  book 
concern  to  be  upwards  of  six  hundred  thousand  dollars — Laymen  ex- 
pressly excluded  from  any  share  in  the  management  or  appropriation  of 
these  funds— Dangerous  tendency  of  such  proscription.— Testimony  of 
others  on  these  subjects. — The  system  of  Methodism  in  these  respects 
contrasted  with  Presbyterianism. — pp.  97—134. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 

Extracts  from  the  Discipline. — the  amount  of  their  "  annual  allowance" 
fixed  by  the  Methodist  clergy  themselves.— Their  salary  greater  than 
that  of  the  clergy  of  other  denominations. — Probable  average  amount 
of  the  salary  of  a  country  circuit  preacher, — of  one  stationed  in  a  large 
town  or  city. — Provisions  made  for  the  support  of  supernumerary  and 
superannuated  preachers, — for  the  widows  and  orphans  of  deceased 
clergymen. — The  amount  of  the  allowance  of  Methodist  ministers 
several  times  increased  by  themselves.— The  testimony  of  others  on 
these  subjects.— Competent  and  faithful  ministers  entitled  to  a  liberal 
support.— The  salary  of  Presbyterian  pastors  regulated  by  the  people.— 
The  average  amount  of  their  salary  less  than  that  of  the  Methodist 
preachers.— No  provision  is  made  for  disabled  or  worn  out  Presbyterian 
ministers— nor  for  their  widows  and  orphans.— pp.  135—190. 


CHAPTER  V. 


FINANCIAL  MEASURES,   OR  MODE   OF  RAISING  SUPPLIES. 

Class  meetings. — Comparative  cost  of  "  free  seats"  and  rented  pews. — 
Love  feasts. — Special  subscriptions  and  collections. — Book  concern, 
periodicals,  &c— The  immense  aggregate  amount  raised  from  great 
numbers,  by  small,  yet  frequent  contributions. — These  methods  con- 
trasted with  the  system  adopted  by  the  Presbyterian  Church-— pp. 
191—208. 


vi 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

PRACTICAL  METHODISM  ITS  MORAL  MACHINERY  RELIG- 
IOUS CHARACTER  AND  FRUITS. 

Importance  of  distinguishing  between  mere  excitements  and  true  revivals 
of  religion. — The  illiterate  character  of  Methodist  preaching  gener- 
ally.— Their  habitual  and  shameful  misrepresentation  of  other  Christ- 
ian churches — their  disparagement  of  the  Christian  character  and 
piety  of  other  denominations.— Methods  employed  by  Methodists  in 
collecting  members  into  their  church,  and  in  proselyting  from  other 
denominations — boasting  of  numbers — camp-meetings — protracted  ser- 
vices— enrolment  of  names — prejudicing  serious  and  inquiring  indi- 
viduals against  other  denominations — tampering  with  the  members  of 
other  churches  with  a  view  to  proselyte  them  to  their  sect — special 
object  of  their  camp-meetings  and  frequent  Excitements  to  proselyte 
from  other  churches. — The  alleged  efficiency  of  Methodist  preachers 
compared  with  the  fruits  of  Presbyterian  ministers. — Effects  of  Meth- 
odism— in  lowering  the  standard  of  qualification  for  the  Gospel  minis- 
try—the little  value  they  place  upon  Christian  instruction — the  per- 
verted taste  which  Methodism  creates  for  hearing  the  word  of  God — 
the  improper  notions  it  begets  in  regard  to  divine  truth — its  unhappy 
effects  upon  the  world. — Illustrations  of  the  amazing  credulity  and 
gross  fanaticism  of  Methodism. — pp.  209 — 270. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

NEW  MEASURES  FOR  PROMOTING  REVIVALS  OF  RELIGION. 

Extracts  from  an  able  article  in  the  Princeton  Repertory  on  the  moral 
machinery  or  new  measures  of  certain  modern  "revivalists,"  so  called, 


CONTENTS. 


in  which  the  true  character  of  such  excitements,  and  the  means  by 
which  they  are  manufactured,  are  exposed.— Letters  of  the  Rev.  Drs. 
Alexander  and  Miller,  Professors  in  the  Theological  Seminary  at 
Princeton,  on  the  subject  of  revivals  and  revival  measures. — The  great 
importance  of  genuine  revivals  of  religion,  and  the  necessity  of  greater 
diligence,  on  the  part  of  orthodox  Christians,  in  the  use  of  God's  ap- 
pointed means,  for  their  promotion.— pp.  271—326. 


CONCLUSION. 


THE  POLITY 

OF  THE 

METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 


INTRODUCTION. 

For  many  years,  and  without  the  slightest  provocation, 
"  The  General  Tract  Society  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,"  under  the  care  and  control  of  the  General  Confer- 
ence, have  been  issuing  hostile  and  offensive  publications 
against  the  Presbyterian  Church — assailing  not  only  her  doc- 
trines, but  endeavouring  to  destroy  the  character  and  influ- 
ence of  her  ministry  and  people.  In  addition  to  the  exten- 
sive circulation  of  these  tracts,  incessant  efforts  have  been 
made,  both  from  the  pulpit  and  from  house  to  house,  to  mis- 
represent the  Presbyterian  church,  and  to  prejudice  the  com- 
munity against  us.  Yea,  even  the  members  of  our  flocks 
have  been  tampered  with,  and  various  dishonourable  means 
employed  to  seduce  them  from  the  church  of  their  fathers. 
All  this  was  patiently  borne,  from  an  extreme  reluctance  to 
have  any  controversy  with  our  neighbours;  until  one  of  their 
controversial  tracts,  on  the  subject  of  election,  was  left,  on 
a  sabbath  morning,  at  my  private  residence  !  This  I  could 
not  but  consider  as  a  personal  insult,  and  as  an  impudent 
challenge  to  a  defence  of  the  doctrine  as  held  by  our  church. 

Accordingly,  on  the  same  day,  I  informed  my  people  of 
what  had  taken  place,  and  announced  my  determination  to 
commence,  on  the  following  sabbath,  an  exposition  and  vin- 
2 


10 


INTRODUCTION. 


dication  of  our  belief  on  the  subject  of  the  Divine  decrees. 
On  that  day,  and  the  sabbath  succeeding,  the  two  lectures 
were  delivered,  which,  at  the  request  of  the  congregation, 
have  since  been  published.*  In  those  lectures,  I  confined 
myself,  almost  exclusively,  to  a  defence,  of  the  doctrine  as 
held  by  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  barely  alluded  to,  what 
we  consider,  the  errors  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church; 
referring,  in  a  note,  for  proof  and  fuller  information,  to  a 
work  entitled  "  The  Difficulties  of  Arminian  Methodism." 

Exception,  however,  was  taken  to  one  or  two  expressions, 
contained  in  the  lectures,  on  the  subjects  of  clerical  control 
of  church  property,  and  ministerial  support,  by  a  writer  in 
the  "  Clipper,"  and  the  charges  implied  flatly  denied — with- 
out naming  the  author  to  whom  I  had  referred  in  proof. 
Still  desirous  of  avoiding  an  offensive  controversy  with  that 
denomination,  I  replied  through  the  same  channel;  and 
having  furnished  the  public  with  the  reference  which  he 
had  omitted,  I  was  disposed  to  leave  the  whole  matter  to 
their  examination  and  decision.  His  first  card,  and  my 
answer,  were  as  follow: 

"  To  the  Editors  of  the  Baltimore  Clipper. 

"  Gentlemen — In  a  pamphlet,  entitled  a  'Brief  Exposition 
and  Vindication  of  the  Doctrine  of  the  Divine  Decrees.'  &c, 
by  Rev.  G.  W.  Musgrave,  Bishop  of  the  Third  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Baltimore,  I  have  noticed  the  following  passage 
in  reference  to  Methodism.  '  The  government  and  discip- 
line of  that  sect  are  anti-republican  and  tyrannical — the  en- 
tire control  of  all  church  property  by  their  clergy,  is  both 

*  An  edition  of  these  lectures  has  been  more  recently  issued  at  Philad- 
elphia, by  "  The  Presbyterian  Board  of  Publication;"  and  copies  may  be 
had,  in  this  city,  at  the  store  of  the  Presbyterian  Tract  Society. 


INTRODUCTION. 


1! 


unjust  to  the  people  who  contribute  the  funds,  and  dangerous 
in  its  tendency  to  public  liberty.'  (Page  38.) 

"  My  object  in  calling  attention  to  this  passage,  is  to  cor- 
rect an  error  which  seems  unaccountably  to  prevail,  about 
the  control  of  Methodist  church  property.  You  will  per- 
haps be  surprised  to  learn  that  the  clergy  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  do  not  own  a  church  or  a  parsonage  in 
the  United  States — and  that  the  acknowledged  pastor  of  a 
Methodist  Church  cannot  take  up  a  collection  in  it,  or  even 
invite  any  other  than  a  Methodist  preacher  to  preach  in  it, 
without  the  assent  of  the  trustees.  You  will  also  be  sur- 
prised to  learn,  that  the  Methodist  Churches  in  this  city  be- 
long to  a  corporation  consisting  of  all  the  male  members 
above  the  age  of  twenty-one  years.  The  preachers  have  no 
control  over  the  current  funds  of  the  church.  The  means  of 
ministerial  support  are  raised  by  weekly  contributions  in  class 
meetings.  These  are  received  by  the  leaders,  who  are  all  lay- 
men, and  by  them  paid  over  to  the  stewards,  who  are  laymen. 
When  a  preacher  is  sent  by  the  bishop  to  a  particular  sta- 
tion, he  is  met  by  a  committee  of  laymen  appointed  by  lay- 
men, who  inquire  into  the  probable  wants  of  his  family,  and 
fix  the  amount  of  his  salary.  The  preacher  has  no  right  to 
stipulate  for  compensation.  He  must  take  what  is  offered 
him,  and  should  the  stewards  not  be  able  to  pay  what  they 
promised,  (which  unfortunately  often  happens,)  by  an  ex- 
press article  of  the  discipline,  it  is  provided  that  the  church 
shall  not  be  accountable  for  the  deficiency,  as  in  case  of  debt. 

"  On  the  other  hand,  if  a  preacher  be  sent  to  a  station, 
and  the  stewards,  sustained  by  the  membership,  refuse  to 
make  any  provision  for  him,  he  has  no  means  of  obtaining 
a  cent. 

**  The  only  church  property  controlled  by  the  clergy,  be- 
sides an  inconsiderable  fund  in  Philadelphia,  is  the  book  es- 


12 


INTRODUCTION. 


tablishment  in  New  York.  This  establishment  is  a  benevo- 
lent one,  being  instituted  with  a  view  to  the  assistance  of 
the  worn-out  preachers,  and  the  widows  and  orphans  of 
such  as  die  in  the  ministry.  To  this  end,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  so  much  as  is  required  for  the  salaries  of  the 
bishops,  the  profits  of  the  concern  are  devoted;  and  when 
you  learn  that  these  profits  are  divided  between  thirty-three 
Annual  Conferences,  and  by  them  subdivided  for  the  relief  of 
necessitous  cases,  you  will,  I  trust,  dismiss  any  apprehen- 
sion that  the  liberties  of  the  country  are  in  danger  from  this 
source. 

"  With  regard  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Musgrave's  opinion  of 
Methodism  or  Methodists,  I  have  nothing  to  say.  I  believe 
that  he  is  entirely  honest  both  in  the  entertainment  and 
avowal  of  his  sentiments  upon  this  subject.  Mr.  Musgrave 
is  an  able,  pious  and  useful  man;  and  I  would  be  sorry,  even 
by  a  defence  of  what  is  as  dear  to  me  as  my  own  life,  to 
draw  him  into  a  controversy  which  would  divert  him  from 
the  nobler  work  of  an  evangelist.  I  prefer  to  wait  until  a 
better  acquaintance  with  the  people  he  thinks  so  badly  of 
shall  correct  the  erroneous  opinions  he  has  hastily  formed 
about  them. 

"As  to  the  error  which  I  have  taken  the  liberty  to  correct, 
I  have  no  doubt  that  Mr.  Musgrave  has  fallen  into  it  by  plac- 
ing too  much  confidence  in  the  statements  of  a  writer,  whose 
book  is  entirely  unworthy  a  place  in  a  clergyman's  library." 

"  A  Methodist." 

July  29th,  1842. 

"To  the  Editors  of  the  Clipper. 

"  Gentlemen: — A  friend  has  called  my  attention  to  an  ar- 
ticle, published  in  your  paper  of  Friday  last,  and  signed  'A 
Methodist.' 


INTRODUCTION. 


13 


"  If  the  respected  writer  had  named  the  author  to  whom  I 
referred  in  support  of  the  statements  to  which  he  takes  ex- 
ception, so  that  the  public  might  be  able  to  examine  the  offi- 
cial and  documentary  proofs  upon  which  they  rest,  I  should 
not  have  thought  it  necessary  to  reply.  But  as  he  has  not 
done  this,  and  as  many  who  may  read  his  article  may  not 
read  the  pamphlet,  I  judge  it  expedient  to  state,  through 
your  columns,  that  the  proof  of  what  I  had  briefly  alluded 
to  in  my  lectures,  can  be  seen  in  a  work  entitled  'The  Diffi- 
culties of  Arminian  Methodism,'  letters  7th  and  8th — and 
which  can  be  had  at  the  bookstore  of  Owen  &  Son's,  Mar- 
ket street,  a  few  doors  east  of  Gay  street.  The  respecta- 
bility of  that  author,  and  the  credibility  of  his  work  are  not 
to  be  destroyed  by  a  dash  of  the  pen,  especially  when  recom- 
mended by  such  men  as  the  venerable  Drs.  Alexander  and 
Elliott; — and  besides,  his  statements  are  substantiated  by 
the  'Book  of  Discipline,'  and  other  authorities,  which  are 
decisive. 

"  I  sincerely  reciprocate  the  respectful  and  kind  feelings 
of  'A  Methodist;'  and  if  all  of  that  sect  would  manifest  the 
same  charitable  feelings  towards  Presbyterians,  and  desist 
from  their  unprovoked  assaults  upon  our  church,  we  should 
have  no  occasion  to  say  anything,  in  self-defence,  that  could 
wound  their  feelings,  or  interrupt  our  mutual  intercourse  and 
Christian  fellowship."  "  G.W.  Musgrave." 

Jlugust  1. 

Contrary  to  my  expectation  and  wishes,  the  writer  pub- 
lished a  second  article  in  the  Clipper,  thus: 

"  To  the  Editors  of  the  Clipper. 

"  The  Rev.  Mr.  Musgrave's  card  is  very  unsatisfactory. 
In  the  common  walks  of  life,  nothing  justifies  n  man  in  hold- 


14 


INTRODUCTION. 


ing  up  another  to  public  odium,  unless  the  accuser  has  taken 
all  possible  pains  to  acquaint  himself  with  the  facts  in 
question,  and  is  prepared  to  sustain  the  accusation  by  the 
facts.  If  such  caution  be  required  in  the  ordinary  affairs  of 
life,  it  cannot  be  dispensed  with  when  a  clergyman  avails 
himself  of  the  authority  of  the  sacred  desk  to  arraign  a  large 
number  of  respectable  people  before  the  bar  of  public  opinion 
as  enemies  of  the  commonwealth.  Mr.  Musgrave  has  vol- 
unteered to  accuse  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  cer- 
tain things,  the  very  mention  of  which,  is  calculated  to 
create  distrust  and  hatred  towards  the  preachers  and  people 
of  that  denomination,  and  when  opportunity  is  given  him  to 
sustain  his  charges,  it  will  not  do  to  refer  to  another  man, 
and  cast  the  responsibility  upon  him.  We  do  not  choose  to 
take  Mr.  Annan  as  Mr.  Musgrave's  substitute.  By  endors- 
ing the  assertions  of  Mr.  Annan,  Mr.  Musgrave  has  deli- 
berately made  himself  responsible  for  the  truth  of  them.  It 
is  with  us  to  choose  with  whom  the  issue  shall  be  made,  and 
we  choose  the  endorser  rather  than  the  drawer,  for  the  rea- 
son that  Mr.  Musgrave's  is  by  far  the  more  respectable  and 
influential  name. 

"  There  are  various  reasons  why  no  man  who  values  his 
own  respectability  ought  to  put  himself  into  an  antagonist 
position  to  Mr.  Annan  or  his  book.  To  all  who  know  any 
thing  about  the  economy  of  Methodism,  the  following  ex- 
tract from  the  'Difficulties'  will  be  sufficient  warrant  for  this 
opinion.  'Preachers  pass  the  revenue  laws — preachers  col- 
lect the  tax — preachers  meet  in  secret  conclave  and  divide 
the  spoil — in  other  words,  fix  the  amount  of  their  own  salary, 
and  allow  themselves  the  sums,  they  in  their  wisdom,  may 
consider  lawfully  due  for  their  important  services — but  no 
eye  or  hand  of  a  layman  must  presume  to  interfere  in  these 
transactions.'  (Page  297.) 


INTRODUCTION. 


15 


"  It  would  be  hard  to  find  in  any  apocryphal  writing  more 
untruths  in  so  few  lines.  To  have  been  able  thus  to  econo- 
mize words  in  such  a  profusion  of  misstatements,  argues  a 
natural  ability  for  misconception,  and  an  amount  of  expe- 
rience in  slander,  which  is  as  curious  as  it  is  rare.  It  would 
be  as  wise  to  controvert  Baron  Munchausen  as  Rev.  Mr. 
Annan. 

"  But  Mr.  Musgrave  appeals  to  the  'Discipline.'  It  is 
much  to  be  regretted  that  he  did  not  quote  the  passages 
which  he  has  so  egregiously  misinterpreted,  for  I  cannot  find 
any  that  could  be  easily  misunderstood. 

"  The  Discipline  certainly  does  not  sustain  Mr.  Musgrave. 
It  distinctly  recognizes  that  all  contributions  for  the  support 
of  the  gospel  shall  be  voluntary — no  man  is  taxed.  Some 
give  much,  many  give  a  little,  and  many  more  give  nothing; 
every  man  doing  as  he  sees  fit — the  Discipline  merely  1  re- 
commends,' that  collections  be  taken  up  for  this  -purpose. 
Again,  the  Discipline  directs  the  money  to  be  paid,  not  to 
the  preacher,  but  to  certain  laymen,  called  stewards — who 
are  responsible,  not  to  the  preacher,  but  to  the  Quarterly 
Meeting  Conference,  essentially  a  lay  body,  '  which  shall 
have  power  to  dismiss  or  change  them  at  pleasure.' 

"  With  regard  to  the  salary  of  the  preacher,  the  amount 
allowed  for  their  house,  furniture,  and  table  expenses,  if 
they  have  families,  or  for  their  board,  if  they  have  not,  is  es- 
timated by  a  committee  of  laymen,  as  I  before  stated.  The 
only  amount  named  by  the  Discipline,  in  connexion  with  a 
preacher's  support,  is,  that  each  preacher  shall  be  allowed 
annually  100  dollars,  if  single;  and  200  if  married;  together 
with  an  allowance  of  16  dollars  for  every  child  under  seven, 
and  24  for  all  between  the  age  of  seven  and  fourteen  years. 
This  regulation  is  obligatory  upon  one  side  only.  It  pre- 
vents the  preachers  from  receiving  more,  but  does  not  re- 

i 


16 


INTRODUCTION. 


quire  the  people  to  pay  so  much.  The  necessity  for  naming 
a  sum,  arises  from  this,  that  all  the  overplus  of  funds  raised 
by  one  circuit  may  go  to  lessen  the  deficiency  of  another — of 
course,  there  must  be  some  standard  by  which  this  over- 
plus and  deficiency  may  be  regulated.  Again,  unless  there 
was  some  nominal  allowance  of  this  kind,  the  funds  raised 
to  eke  out  deficiencies  could  net  be  fairly  distributed,  as  it 
would  be  impossible  to  make  an  equitable  dividend  to  claim- 
ants. There  must  be  an  allowance  before  deficiency  can  be 
made  apparent.   (Sec.  nr.  and  iv.) 

"  As  to  the  church  property,  the  Discipline  recommends 
a  deed  of  settlement,  (page  161)  in  which  the  property  is 
conveyed  to  trustees  'for  the  use  of  the  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church.'  The  only  right  reserved  to 
the  preachers,  is  the  right  to  preach  in  the  church  when 
regularly  appointed  to  do  so.  Less  than  this  could  not  se- 
cure the  property  for  the  use  of  the  members  of  the  church, 
as  otherwise  the  trustees  might  shut  out  the  Methodist 
preachers  and  give  up  the  church  to  our  friend  Mr.  Mus- 
grave,  or  somebody  else,  who  might  preach  very  disagreea- 
ble doctrines. 

"  The  preacher  has  the  power  of  nominating  trustees  in 
case  of  vacancy.  This  has  been  said  to  give  him  control 
over  them.  If  so,  the  President  of  the  United  States,  by 
and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  senate,  controls  the 
judiciary  of  this  country,  as  he  nominates  the  judges  of  the 
supreme  court.  The  security  of  the  judiciary  is,  that  the 
judges  are  not  responsible  to  or  removable  by  the  presi- 
dent. And  so  with  us,  the  stewards  and  trustees  are  neither 
responsible  to  nor  removable  by  the  preacher.  In  fact,  but 
few  of  our  churches  are  held  under  this  deed  of  settlement. 
In  this  city  the  trustees  fill  their  own  vacancies,  and  in  most 
of  the  eastern  conferences  the  trustees  are  elected  by  the 
membership. 


INTRODUCTION. 


17 


"  The  Methodists  of  this  city  now  wait  for  whatever  evi- 
dence Mr.  Musgrave  may  adduce  in  substantiation  of  his 
charges.  He  must  make  good  his  assertions,  or  frankly  ac- 
knowledge his  mistake,  unless  he  would  abide  under  the  im- 
putation of  'bearing  false  witness  against  his  neighbour.'  " 

August  3.  "  A  Methodist." 

In  reply  to  the  above,  I  issued  the  following: — 
"A  Card. 

"  Since  my  return  to  the  city,  I  have  seen  the  second  arti- 
cle, signed  '  A  Methodist.'  I  had  hoped  that  the  reference 
which  I  gave,  in  reply  to  the  first  article,  would  have  been 
sufficient,  as  I  did  not  wish  to  be  forced  into  an  offensive 
controversy  with  that  denomination.  It  appears,  however, 
that  my  card  was  '  very  unsatisfactory,'  and  that  the  Method- 
ists are  '  waiting'  for  the  proof  of  what  I  had  briefly  al- 
luded to  in  my  recent  lectures. 

"  Well,  as  they  insist  upon  it,  they  shall  have  it.  I  will 
not,  however,  confine  myself  to  the  single  points  excepted 
to  by  '  A  Methodist,'  but  shall  take  the  liberty  of  discussing 
the  general  subject  of  the  government  and  discipline  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church;  and  as  soon  as  my  pastoral 
and  other  engagements  will  allow,  I  wdll  publish,  in  pam- 
phlet form,  the  results  of  my  examination.*  In  the  mean 
time,  I  may  be  permitted  to  say,  that  I  am  fully  convinced 

*In  consequence  of  previous  engagements,  a  considerable  period  elapsed 
before  I  could  find  time  to  devote  to  this  work.  I  then  prepared  a  short 
pamphlet,  agreeably  to  my  original  intention;  but,  on  further  reflection, 
and  at  the  instance  of  some,  for  whom  I  have  the  highest  respect,  I  re- 
solved to  publish  a  more  full  and  extended  exposure  of  the  whole  subject. 
This  will  account  for  the  delay  in  the  publication,  as  well  as  for  the/or?;t 
in  which  it  appears. 
3 


18 


INTRODUCTION. 


of  the  truth  of  all  that  I  have  stated,  notwithstanding  what 
has  been  written  by  '  A  Methodist,'  and  will,  in  due  time, 
exhibit  the  proof  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  public.''' 
August  10.  "  G.  W.  Musgrave." 

Having  thus  given  a  brief  sketch  of  the  circumstances 
under  which  I  have  been  forced,  contrary  to  my  inclination, 
to  this  painful  task,  I  will  now  proceed  to  redeem  the  pledge 
which  was  thus  extorted  from  me:  and  after  having  done 
this,  the  public  may  judge,  whether  my  reluctance  to  enter 
upon  it  has  proceeded  from  any  want  of  confidence  in  my 
ability  to  substantiate  the  facts  to  which  I  had  only  briefly 
alluded  in  my  lectures,  or  from  a  sincere  desire  to  avoid  all 
unnecessary  exposure  of  the  errors  and  faults  of  a  Christian 
denomination.  Even  in  this  compulsory  performance,  it  is 
my  purpose  to  say  no  more  than  is,  in  my  judgment,  indis- 
pensible,  to  protect  myself  against  the  public  threat  of  dis- 
honor and  falsehood! — and  if,  in  exhibiting  the  proof,  any 
damage  should  be  done  to  those  who  have  so  pertinaciously 
insisted  upon  its  exhibition,  on  them,  not  on  me,  must  rest 
the  responsibility. 

Before  I  proceed,  however,  the  reader  will  indulge  me 
with  a  few  remarks. 

The  author  of  the  work  entitled  "  The  Difficulties  of 
Arminian  Methodism,"  has  been  spoken  of,  by  "  A  Method- 
ist," with  the  greatest  contempt,  and  his  book  denounced 
as  unworthy  of  credit.  This  is  a  very  easy  and  convenient 
method  of  getting  rid  of  testimony  which  is  too  conclusive 
to  be  disproved!  and  if  every  party  accused  were  allowed 
thus  to  decide  upon  the  character  and  credibility  of  witnesses 
brought  to  testify  against  them,  their  acquittal  would  indeed 
be  certain  and  triumphant!  But  whatever  may  be  the  pecu- 
liarities of  '■'■medical  jurisprudence,"  it  is  believed  that,  in 


INTRODUCTION. 


19 


every  other  department  of  law  and  justice,  the  court,  or  jury, 
— and  not  the  accused, — determine  the  competency  and  cre- 
dibility of  witnesses:  and  in  this  case,  the  public, — and  not 
"A  Methodist," — must  decide.  In  referring  to  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Annan's  work,  I  was  not  so  immodest  as  to  insist  upon  the 
sufficiency  of  my  endorsement,  against  the  protest  of  so  dis- 
tinguished a  personage  as  ,  alias  "A  Methodist;" 

— but  I  did  venture  to  think  that,  notwithstanding  his 
opinion,  the  recommendation  of  such  men  as  the  venera- 
ble Drs.  Alexander  and  Elliott,  would  be  regarded  by  the 
public  as  ample  security  for  the  respectability  and  credi- 
bility of  the  witness.  The  truth  is,  such  an  expression  of 
contempt,  by  "A  Methodist,"  of  the  character  and  work  of 
a  gentleman  so  recommended,  could  only  excite  a  smile, 
were  it  not  so  disgustingly  unbecoming  and  reprehensible. 
I  desire  to  excuse,  as  far  as  possible — for  no  doubt  the  able 
work  of  Mr.  Annan  has  greatly  disturbed  their  equanimity 
and  self-complacency — but  such  expressions  of  contempt  of 
the  character  of  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  who  has  been  con- 
victed of  no  crime,  is  highly  offensive,  and  deserves  to  be 
gravely  and  pointedly  rebuked.  But  while  I  have  felt  it  to 
be  due  to  an  absent  gentleman  to  say  thus  much  in  vindica- 
tion of  his  reputation — and  now  re-affirm  that  I  have  the 
utmost  confidence  in  the  truth  of  the  general  statements  con- 
tained in  his  book — I  wish  it  to  be  distinctly  understood, 
that  I  am  not  dependent  upon  his  testimony  for  the  proof  of 
what  I  referred  to  in  my  lectures. — They  can  be  fully  estab- 
lished by  other  writers,  and  by  authorities  entirely  independ- 
ent, as  will  presently  appear. 

The  attempt  of  "  A  Me  thodist"  to  represent  me  as  the 
aggressor  is  futile.  The  truth  is,  I  had  repeatedly  heard  of 
the  gross  and  vulgar  caricatures  of  the  doctrines  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  by  one  and  another  of  the  Methodist  clergy, 


2U 


INTRODUCTION. 


and  had  often  been  informed  of  the  misrepresentations  which 
had  been  privately  made  by  many  members  of  that  sect 
with  a  view  to  disaffect  the  people  of  my  charge  against  my 
ministry  and  the  denomination  to  which  they  are  attached, 
and  yet,  until  the  tract  to  which  I  have  previously  referred 
had  been  left  at  my  private  dwelling,  I  had  never,  in  the 
whole  course  of  my  pastoral  life,  preached  a  single  contro- 
versial discourse  on  the  doctrine  of  Divine  decrees.  And 
the  lectures  which  I  then  delivered  were  almost  exclusively 
defensive,  and  contain  only  a  few  brief  allusions  to  the  polity, 
&c,  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  How  justly  might 
I  therefore  retort  on  many  of  the  preachers  and  members  of 
that  sect,  who  have  been  engaged  for  years,  both  in  public 
and  in  private — from  the  pulpit  and  the  press — and  from 
house  to  house,  in  endeavouring  not  only  to  render  our  senti- 
ments abhorrent,  but  to  make  even  our  persons  and  character 
odious?  What  a  pity  that  those  who  seem  to  be  so  sensitive, 
when  the  slightest  allusion  is  made  to  their  doctrines  and  poli- 
ty, and  that,  too,  under  circumstances  so  provoking — should 
appear  to  have  so  little  regard  for  the  reputation  and  feelings 
of  others,  quite  as  "respectable,"  if  not  as  numerous  as 
themselves;  and  that  they  should,  in  their  violent  and  un- 
provoked attacks  upon  their  neighbours,  remain  apparently 
so  insensible  to  their  own  responsibilities  ! 

The  quotation  from  the  work  of  Mr.  Annan,  in  connexion 
with  the  regret  expressed  by  "A  Methodist,"  that  I  had 
not  cited  the  passages  from  the  Discipline,  which  prove  the 
statements  of  Mr.  Annan,  is  about  as  candid  as  his  attempt 
to  represent  me  as  having  been  the  unprovoked  assailant  of 
the  Methodist  Church.  Where,  had  I  "  appealed  to  the  Dis- 
cipline" in  proof  of  the  particular  statements  and  expres- 
sions contained  in  that  quotation?  Besides,  did  he  verily 
believe,  that  Mr.  Annan  used  the  word  "  tax"  in  the  sense 


INTRODUCTION. 


21 


in  which  he  represents  him  as  having  employed  it?  Or  was 
he  ignorant  of  the  fact,  that,  at  the  lime  Mr.  Annan  wrote,  the 
sessions  of  the  General  Conference  (which  is  composed  of 
clergymen  exclusively,)  were  secret,  and  that  it  has  only 
been  within  a  fewr  years  past  that  any  laymen  are  permitted 
to  be  present  as  spectators?  But  after  all  his  affected  con- 
tempt of  the  credibility  of  Mr.  Annan,  and  his  regret 
that  I  had  not  cited  the  Discipline  in  proof  of  the  state- 
ments contained  in  that  quotation,  the  very  next  sentence  of 
Mr.  Annan,  reads  thus: — "In  proof  of  these  statements,  we 
refer  to  the  Discipline,  (pp.  167 — 172.)"!!!  It  is  almost 
incredible,  but  it  is  even  so,  as  any  one  may  see,  by  referring 
to  Mr.  Annan's  work,  p.  297.  Now,  how  are  we  to  account 
for  this?  How  could  any  one  thus  stop  short  with  a  quota- 
tion, and  express  his  regret  that  no  reference  had  been  given, 
when  in  fact,  the  reference  was  before  his  eyes  in  the  very 
next  sentence  to  that  which  he  has  quoted! — And  not  only 
so,  but  in  the  same  breath  to  denounce  a  minister  of  the 
gospel  as  unworthy  of  credit — yea,  as  an  unparalleled  falsi- 
fyer  and  slanderer!!!  Nor  is  this  the  only  instance,  I  am 
sorry  to  say,  in  that  short  article,  in  which  a  quotation  is  ab- 
ruptly terminated: — there  is  another,  the  remainder  of  which, 
had  it  been  given,  would  have  proven  the  very  contrary  of 
what  the  part  was  produced  to  establish  !  This  latter  in- 
stance I  shall  have  occasion  to  expose  when  treating  of  the 
subject  to  which  it  refers,  and  shall  therefore,  for  the  present, 
pass  it  by. 

Besides  these,  there  are  several  things  contained  in  the 
articles  of  "  A  Methodist,"  on  which  I  should  animadvert, 
if  it  were  my  intention  to  enter  upon  a  personal  controversy. 
But  I  have  no  such  design.  I  will  not,  therefore,  take  any 
further  notice  of  him;  and  shall  only  advert  to  what  he  has 
stated,  when  such  advertence  would  serve  to  elucidate  the 


22 


INTRODUCTION. 


subjects  on  which  I  propose  to  write.  His  public  demand 
for  the  proof  of  what  I  had  alluded  to  in  my  lectures,  has 
indeed  been  the  occasion  of  ray  writing:  but  I  shall  use 
the  occasion,  not  merely  for  the  purpose  of  furnishing  the 
evidence  called  for,  but  also  for  the  purpose  of  discussing 
the  whole  subject — so  far  at  least,  as  it  shall  appear  to  me  to 
be  desirable. 

It  may  be  proper  also  to  remark,  that  it  is  not  my  inten- 
tion in  the  exposure  which  I  shall  make  of  the  errors  and 
evils  of  Methodism,  to  .disparage  what  is  really  true  and 
good  in  that  system.  I  cheerfully  admit  that  there  is  much 
in  it  that  is  excellent;  and  as  far  as  it  is  so,  it  has  my  cor- 
dial commendation  and  hearty  good  wishes.  But  that  there 
is  likewise  much,  very  much  that  is  false  and  evil,  I  am  fully 
persuaded — and  many  of  these  errors  and  evils  I  shall  freely 
expose.  Nor  is  it  my  intention  to  involve  all  the  clergy  and 
members  of  that  sect  in  many  of  the  things  on  which  1  shall 
feel  it  to  be  my  duty  to  animadvert.  I  have  no  doubt  but 
that  many  of  them  disapprove  of  much  of  the  spirit  and 
conduct  of  others  connected  with  them;  and  they  should  not 
therefore  be  held  responsible  for  what  they  do  not  them- 
selves sanction  or  practice.  I  have  no  doubt  but  that  there 
are  many  truly  pious  and  useful  men,  both  among  their  clergy 
and  laity;  and  I  protest,  in  advance,  against  being  consider- 
ed as  including  such  in  some  of  the  strictures  which  I  shall 
make  upon  that  denomination  in  general.  I  have  no  desire 
to  deal  in  indiscriminate  censure,  and  shall  endeavour,  in  the 
progress  of  the  discussion,  duly  to  qualify  my  reflections;  but 
if,  in  any  case,  I  should  inadvertently  omit  such  qualification, 
I  beg  the  reader  to  recollect  the  admissions  and  acknow- 
ledgments just  made,  and  to  supply  the  omission  himself. 

As  to  the  spirit  and  manner  of  the  performance,  I  will 
only  say,  that  I  shall  endeavour  to  avoid  all  bitterness  and 


INTRODUCTION. 


23 


undue  severity  of  language: — But  this  shall  not  prevent  me 
from  writing  with  that  freedom  and  plainness  which  the  due 
exposure  of  such  errors  and  evils  require.  Some  expres- 
sions of  the  witnesses  whom  I  shall  cite,  I  could  wish  had 
been  a  little  more  gentle;  but  I  must  not  be  regarded  as  ap- 
proving of  any  thing  that  is  unduly  severe  in  the  language 
of  their  testimony.  I  shall  cite  them  in  proof  of  certain 
facts,  and  to  show  what  their  opinions  are  in  reference  to 
certain  matters;  and,  of  course,  I  shall  be  obliged  to  let 
them  speak  in  their  own  words,  for  which  they  alone  should 
be  considered  as  responsible.  And  it  may  not  be  amiss  to 
add,  as  some  men  appear  to  have  singular  notions  of  the 
kind  and  degree  of  responsibility  involved  in  a  reference  to 
an  author  in  support  of  specified  and  general  propositions, 
that  in  the  extended  quotations  which  I  shall  make  from 
other  writers,  I  hold  myself  responsible  only  for  the  truth 
of  the  positions,  in  the  support  of  which,  they  are  avowedly 
made,  and  for  the  intelligence  and  respectability  of  the  wri- 
ters themselves.  Of  some  of  the  facts  stated  by  them,  I 
can  have  no  personal  knowledge,  and  their  opinions  on  the 
subjects  of  which  they  treat,  must  rest  upon  their  individual 
authority.  All  that  any  reasonable  man  can  require,  is,  that 
the  witnesses  produced,  shall  be  gentlemen  of  intelligence 
and  probity,  and  entitled  to  the  confidence  of  the  reader. 
Some  of  them  are  well  known,  and  have  been  highly  distin- 
guished— most  of  their  statements  are  corroborated  by  offi- 
cial and  documentary  references — and  those  which  rest  upon 
their  own  observation  or  authority,  the  reader  will  receive 
with  as  much  deference  as,  in  his  judgment,  they  are  fairly 
entitled  to. 

The  paragraph  contained  in  my  lectures,  page  38,  to 
which  exception  has  been  taken,  is  as  follows: — "  With  re- 
gard to  the  government  and  discipline  of  those  who  have 


24 


INTRODUCTION. 


so  violently  and  wantonly  assailed  our  church,  it  would  be 
easy  to  show, — that  the  origin  of  Methodist  Episcopacy  is 
perfectly  ludicrous; — that  the  government  and  discipline  of 
that  sect  are  anti-republican  and  tyrannical; — that  the 
entire  control  of  all  church  property  by  their  clergy, 
amounting,  as  it  does,  to  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars, 
and  annually  increasing,  is  both  unjust  to  the  people  who 
contribute  the  funds,  and  dangerous  in  its  tendency  to 
public  liberty; — and  that,  notwithstanding  their  ungen- 
erous and  invidious  comparisons,  they  are,  indirectly,  but 
substantially  and  really  better  provided  for,  as  to  tem- 
poralities, than  the  clergy  of  other  Christian  denomina- 
tions." 

Why  the  proof  of  the  statements  contained  in  the  forego- 
ing paragraph  should  have  been  so  pertinaciously  insisted  on, 
it  is  difficult  to  say — unless  the  gentle  and  deprecatory  style 
of  my  first  card  should  have  made  the  impression,  that  no 
taunt,  however  provoking — no  threat,  however  insulting, 
could  induce  me  to  enter  into  a  public  discussion.  It  is  true 
that  I  have  never  before  allowed  myself  to  be  turned  aside 
from  my  pastoral  work  to  engage  in  an  offensive  controversy 
with  any  sect;  and  I  would  gladly  have  been  excused,  as  I 
virtually  begged  to  be,  in  the  present  instance.  And  I  felt 
the  greater  reluctance  to  enter  upon  this  task,  because  the 
government  and  discipline  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  had  been  discussed,  not  many  years  since,  in  this 
city,  to  a  very  considerable  extent,  and  with  much  ability,  by 
the  Methodist  Reformers; — and  because  most  of  the  material 
facts  in  the  case,  had  been,  by  them,  and  other  writers,  pre- 
sented to  the  public.  However,  as  no  alternative  was  left 
me  but  to  republish  the  proof,  or  submit  to  the  imputation  of 
falsehood  and  slander,  I  could  not  but  determine  to  re-pro- 
duce the  challenged  evidence.    But,  notwithstanding,  there 


INTRODUCTION. 


26 


will  be  some  advantages  in  the  present  work: — The  subject 
will  be  again  brought  to  the  notice  of  the  community,  and 
the  testimony  which  is  now  scattered  through  various  pub- 
lications, will  be  brought  together,  and  made  more  accessi- 
ble to  the  generality  of  readers.  Besides,  the  Reformers 
confined  their  examination  chiefly  to  those  principles  of  the 
government  and  discipline  of  their  church  which  militated 
against  their  rights  as  local  preachers,  and  left  untouched 
many  other  matters  connected  with"  practical  Methodism," 
which  are  highly  interesting  and  important. — On  these  latter 
subjects,  I  have  collected  what  I  thought  valuable  in  the 
writings  of  others — which  will,  in  my  judgment,  greatly  add 
to  the  interest  and  utility  of  the  whole. 

With  these  prefatory  remarks,  I  will  now  proceed  to  offer 
the  required  proof  upon  each  of  the  topics  embraced  in  the 
paragraph  above,  quoted  from  my  lectures,  and  in  the  order 
in  which  they  are  stated:  and  having  done  this,  I  shall  add 
a  chapter  or  two,  as  I  have  already  intimated,  on  some  other 
matters  connected  with  the  system  of  Methodism,  which  I 
trust  will  not  be  either  "  unsatisfactory"  or  unprofitable  to 
the  reader. 


4 


CHAPTER  I. 


METHODIST  EPISCOPACY. 

Its  dubious  origin, — in  all  probability  "surreptitiously"  introduced. — If 
understood  in  the  prelatical  sense,  it  is  utterly  spurious  and  invalid, — if 
not  regarded  as  prelatical,  the  manner  in  which  it  is  spoken  of  is  su- 
premely ridiculous.— The  application  of  "Bishop"  Coke  to  Bishop 
White  for  re-ordination. — The  validity  of  the  Presbyterial  ordination 
of  Methodist  preachers. — The  admissions  of  Bishop  White  relative  to 
the  validity  of  Presbyterial  ordinations. — According  to  the  Scriptures 
there  is  but  one  permanent  order  of  ministers  in  the  church  of  Christ. 

The  origin  of  Methodist  Episcopacy  is  thus  stated  in 
"The  Doctrines  and  Discipline  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,"  chapter  I.,  section  1,  viz: — "The  preachers  and 
members  of  our  society  in  general,  being  convinced  that 
there  was  a  great  deficiency  of  vital  religion  in  the  Church 
of  England  in  America,  and  being  in  many  places  destitute 
of  the  Christian  sacraments,  as  several  of  the  clergy  had  for- 
saken their  churches,  requested  the  late  Rev.  John  Wesley 
to  take  such  measures,  in  his  wisdom  and  prudence,  as 
would  afford  them  suitable  relief  in  their  distress. 

"  In  consequence  of  this,  our  venerable  friend,  who,  un- 
der God,  had  been  the  father  of  the  great  revival  of  religion 
now  extending  over  the  earth,  by  the  means  of  the  Method- 
ists, determined  to  ordain  ministers  for  America;  and  for  this 
purpose,  in  the  year  1784,  sent  over  three  regularly  ordain- 
ed clergy:  but  preferring  the  Episcopal  mode  of  church  gov- 
ernment to  any  other,  he  solemnly  set  apart,  by  the  iinposi- 


28 


METHODIST  EPISCOPACY. 


tion  of  his  hands  and  prayer,  one  of  them,  viz.,  Thomas  Coke, 
doctor  of  civil  law,  late  of  Jesus  College,  in  the  University 
of  Oxford,  and  a  presbyter  of  the  Church  of  England,  for 
the  episcopal  office;  and  having  delivered  to  him  letters  of 
episcopal  orders,  commissioned  and  directed  him  to  set  apart 
Francis  Asbitry,  then  general  assistant  of  the  Methodist  So- 
ciety in  America,  for  the  same  episcopal  office;  he,  the  said 
Francis  Asbary,  being  first  ordained  deacon  and  elder.  In 
consequence  of  which,  the  said  Francis  Jisbury  was  solemnly 
set  apart  for  the  said  episcopal  office  by  prayer,  and  the  im- 
position of  the  hands  of  the  said  Thomas  Coke,  other  regu- 
larly ordained  ministers  assisting  in  the  sacred  ceremony. 
At  which  time  the  General  Conference,  held  at  Baltimore,  did 
unanimously  receive  the  said  Thomas  Coke  and  Francis  Jis- 
bury as  their  bishops,  being  fully  satisfied  of  the  validity  of 
their  episcopal  ordination."* 

As  the  origin  of  Methodist  Episcopacy  is  thus  officially 
ascribed  to  the  preference  of  the  Rev.  John  Wesley  for  the 
episcopal  mode  of  church  goverment,  and  he  is  represented 
as  having  ordained  Dr.  Coke  a  bishop,  &c,  it  is  a  matter  of 
interest  with  Methodists,  whether  Mr.  Wesley  ever  did 
what  is  thus  attributed  to  him?  Certainly,  as  their  episcopal 
form  of  government  is  thus  made  to  rest — not  on  scripture, 
nor  even  expediency — but  on  the  authority  of  their  "  venera- 
ble friend,"  it  is  proper  that  the  proof  of  his  having  preferred 
such  a  form  of  government,  and  of  his  having  actually 
ordained  Dr.  Coke  a  bishop,  should  be  produced. 

The  Rev.  Alexander  McCaine,  who  was  for  more  than 
thirty  years  a  minister  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
declares  in  his  "  History  and  Mystery  of  Methodist  Episco- 

*  The  edition  of  the  Discipline  used  by  me  in  this  work  is  that  of  1842 
—in  cases  where  different  editions  are  referred  to,  by  others,  the  reader 
shall  be  apprized  of  it. 


METHODIST  EPISCOPACY. 


29 


pacy,"  page  8,  (hat,  "  after  searching  for  it  for  thirty-five 
years,  we  are  no  nearer  the  discovery  now  than  we  were 
when  we  commenced  the  search.  No  such  '  counsel'  is 
given  by  Mr.  Wesley  in  his  letter  to  Dr.  Coke,  nor  in  that 
which  he  addressed  to '  Dr.  Coke,  Mr.  Asbury,  and  our  breth- 
ren in  North  America.'  So  far  from  this  'counsel'  being 
contained  in  those  official  papers,  the  term  '  episcopal'  is  not 
to  be  found  in  either  of  them.  Nor  is  there  any  expres- 
sion, coming  from  Mr.  Wesley's  pen,  which  we  have  ever 
seen,  in  those  papers,  or  elsewhere,  that  would  justify 
us  in  saying,  he  '  recommended '  the  episcopal  form  of 
church  government  to  the  Methodist  societies  in  the  Unit- 
ed States." 

Mr.  McCaine  further  states  in  his  preface,  that,  previous 
to  the  publication  of  his  History,  he  addressed  a  letter  of  in- 
quiry to  each  of  the  Methodist  bishops,  "  but  from  neither 
of  them,  has  he  received  one  wyord  in  reply.  Failing  to  ob- 
tain information  from  this  quarter,  he  addressed  a  letter  to 
each  of  six  of  the  oldest  preachers  in  the  connexion,  men  who 
were  in  the  General  Conference  of  1784.  And  from  the 
answers  he  has  received  from  them,  collated  with  other 
documents,  he  is  fully  established  in  the  opinion  that  there 
never  was  a  document,  letter  or  paper  received  from  Mr. 
Wesley,  in  which  he  recommended  the  episcopal  mode  of 
church  government,  to  the  American  Methodists." 

This  opinion  of  the  unauthorized  use  of  Mr.  Wesley's 
name  in  the  introduction  of  the  Methodist  episcopacy,  is 
greatly  strengthened  by  the  fact,  that  the  letter  of  Mr.  Wes- 
ley, upon  which  the  account  contained  in  their  Book  of  Dis- 
cipline of  the  origin  of  their  episcopacy  is  founded,  con- 
tains no  such  warrant.  In  that  letter,  Mr.  Wesley  says, — 
"  I  have  accordingly  appointed  Dr.  Coke  and  Mr.  Francis 
Asbury,  to  be  joint  superintendents,  over  our  brethren  in  North 
America."    This  letter  is  published  in  extenso  in  Mr.  Mc- 


30 


METHODIST  EPISCOPACY. 


Caine's  "  History  and  Mystery,"  pp.  12  and  13, — and  al- 
so, in  Lee's  "  Short  History  of  the  Methodists,"  pp.  91 — 
3;  and  if  any  one  will  compare  it  with  the  statement  pub- 
lished in  the  Book  of  Discipline,  they  will  see  how  great  a 
disagreement  there  is  between  them.  After  placing  both 
these  documents  before  his  readers,  Mr.  McCaine  thus 
writes, — "  The  one  was  written  by  somebody,  we  know  not 
by  whom,  for  it  has  no  name  affixed  to  it,  and  has  found  its 
way  into  our  Book  of  Discipline.  The  other  was  written  by 
Mr.  Wesley,  himself,  and  bears  his  signature.  The  former 
was  wiitten  several  years  after  the  adoption  of  the  present 
form  of  government,  which  event  took  place  in  1784;  and  it 
speaks  of  Mr.  Wesley  as  '  the  late  Rev.  John  Wesley,'  who 
died  in  1791.  The  latter  is  dated  '  Bristol,  Sept.  10,  1784,' 
and  is  given  (we  repeat  it)  as  the  sole  authority  for  our  epis- 
copal mode  of  church  government.  Between  the  former  and 
the  latter,  there  is  manifestly  a  great  disagreement.  In  the 
former,  the  term,  'episcopal'  occurs  six  times,  and  the  word 
'bishops'  once.  In  the  latter,  neither  episcopal'  nor  'bishop,' 
in  their  application  to  our  church,  is  to  be  found  at  all.  We 
are  at  a  loss  to  conceive,  how  it  could  have  been  said,  that 
*■  Mr.  Wesley  recommended  the  episcopal  mode  of  church 
government,'  when  there  is  not,  in  this  letter,  a  single  word 
recommendatory  of  it,  from  beginning  to  end." — History 
and  Mystery,  p.  13. 

Not  only  is  there  no  evidence  in  the  letter  of  Mr.  Wes- 
ley, appointing  Dr.  Coke  and  Mr.  Asbury  "joint  superin- 
tendents," that  he  recommended  the  episcopal  mode  of 
church  government,  or  intended  to  invest  them  with  "  the 
episcopal  office,"  but  there  is  very  strong  and  decisive  proof 
that  he  utterly  disapproved  and  severely  reprehended  the 
episcopal  assumption  of  those  gentlemen.  What  could  be 
more  conclusive  than  the  following  letter,  addressed  to  Mr. 
Asbury,  after  his  assumption  of  the  title  of  bishop? 


METHODIST  EPISCOPACY. 


31 


"London,  Sept.  20th,  1788. 

"  There  is,  indeed,  a  wide  difference  between  the  relation 
wherein  you  stand  to  the  Americans,  and  the  relation  where- 
in I  stand  to  all  the  Methodists.  You  are  the  elder  brother 
of  the  American  Methodists;  I  am,  under  God,  the  father  of 
the  whole  family.  Therefore,  I  naturally  care  for  you  all, 
in  a  manner  no  other  person  can  do.  Therefore,  I,  in  a 
measure,  provide  for  you  all;  for  the  supplies  which  Dr. 
Coke  provides  for  you,  he  could  not  provide,  were  it  not  for 
me — were  it  not,  that  I  not  only  permit  him  to  collect,  but 
also  support  him  in  so  doing. 

"  But  in  one  point,  my  dear  brother,  I  am  a  little  afraid 
both  the  Doctor  and  you  differ  from  me.  I  study  to  be  Ut- 
ile, you  study  to  be  great;  I  creep,  you  strut  along.  I  found 
a  school,  you  a  college.  Nay,  and  call  it  after  your  own 
names  !  O,  beware  !  Do  not  seek  to  be  something  !  Let 
me  be  nothing,  and  Christ  be  all  in  all. 

"  One  instance  of  this,  of  your  greatness,  has  given  me 
great  concern.  How  can  you,  how  dare  you  suffer  yourself 
to  be  called  a  bishop?  I  shudder,  I  start  at  the  very  thought. 
Men  may  call  me  a  knave,  or  a  fool,  a  rascal,  a  scoundrel, 
and  I  am  content;  but  they  shall  never,  by  my  consent,  call 
me  a  bishop!  For  my  sake,  for  God's  sake,  for  Christ's 
sake,  put  a  full  end  to  this!  Let  the  Presbyterians  do  what 
they  please,  but  let  the  Methodists  know  their  calling  better. 

"  Thus,  my  dear  Franky,  I  have  told  you  all  that  is  in  my 
heart,  and  let  this,  when  I  am  no  more  seen,  bear  witness 
how  sincerely 

I  am  your  affectionate  friend  and  brother, 

John  Wesley."* 

•  Wcslcy'b  Work.s,  vol.  VII.,  pp.  187  and  8,  New  York  Ed.,  1835. 


32 


METHODIST  EPISCOPACY. 


Such  language  would  seem  to  be  too  explicit  and  empha- 
tic, to  admit  of  any  false  construction;  and  yet,  the  Rev. 
Dr.  John  Emory,  late  one  of  the  bishops  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  in  his  "  Defence  of  Our  Fathers,"  sect. 
IX.,  attempts  to  evade  its  force,  by  alleging,  that  "  it  was  to 
the  term  'bishop'  solely  that  he  objected,"  and  not  to  the  of- 
fice!! But  such  an  explanation  is  utterly  inadmissible,  ex- 
cept at  the  expense  of  Mr.  Wesley's  character.  For,  if  he 
did  not  object  to  the  thing,  and  only  to  the  name,  such  se- 
vere and  vehement  language  is  worse  than  ridiculous — it  is 
profane  ! 

But  if  Mr.  Wesley  did  not  recommend  the  episcopal  mode 
of  church  government,  it  may  be  inquired,  how  was  that 
form  of  government  introduced  among  his  followers  in  this 
country?  A  satisfactory  answer  to  this  inquiry  would  be  ve- 
ry difficult,  if  not  impossible,  without  impeaching  the  mo- 
tives and  conduct  of  its  original  founders.  Mr.  McCaine  and 
others  do  not  hesitate  to  affirm,  from  their  elaborate  exami- 
nation of  the  early  history  of  Methodist  episcopacy,  that 
it  was  introduced  "surreptitiously" — byunlawful  and  disho- 
nourable means.  Ceitain  it  is,  that  the  whole  subject  is  to  a 
great  extent,  involved  in  "  mystery" — and  that  the  reasons 
assigned,  at  different  times,  by  the  General  Conference,  for 
the  formation  of  their  Episcopal  Church,  are  not  the  same 
— their  general  minutes  not  only  differing  on  this  subject 
from  the  Book  of  Discipline — but  different  editions  of  the 
Book  of  Discipline  itself  differing  from  each  other! — See  Mc- 
Cains'''s  History,  pp.  18  and  19. 

The  following  interesting  sketch  of  the  origin  of  Method- 
ist episcopacy,  may  serve  to  throw  some  light  upon  the 
"  mystery"  in  which  it  is  involved: — It  is  taken  from  Dr. 
"Jennings's  Exposition,"  (fee,  pp.  122 — 128. 


METHODIST  EPISCOPACY.  33 

tc  We  learn  from  the  general  minutes,  that  the  first 
Methodist  conference  in  America,  was  held  in  Philadelphia, 
in  the  year  1773.    The  minute  says,  this  conference  con- 
sisted of  ten  travelling  preachers.    A  careful  examination 
of  the  subject,  has  convinced  us  that  six  only,  and  these 
all  Englishmen,  were  the  acting  members  of  the  con- 
ference; Thomas  Rankin,  George  Shadford,  John  King, 
Francis  Asbury,  Richard  Wright,  and  Robert  Williams. 
Lee's  History  says,  this  conference  consisted  of  six  or  seven 
travelling  preachers.    The  apparent  uncertainty,  about  six 
or  seven,  grew  out  of  the  fact,  that  the  name  of  Robert 
Strawbridge,  an  Irishman,  and  successful  local  preacher,  of 
Pipe  Creek,  Frederick  county,  Maryland,  is  placed  on  the 
minute,  as  if  one  of  their  body.    In  the  minute  of  1774,  his 
name  is  not  found.    In  the  year  1775,  he  appears  to  have 
been  stationed  in  his  own  county.     After  that  date,  his 
name  is  no  more  to  be  seen.    With  Mr.  Lee,  therefore,  we 
doubt  the  propriety  of  reckoning  more  than  six.    The  re- 
maining three,  William  Waters,  Abraham  Whitworth,  and 
Joseph  Yearly,  were  young  men,  received  that  year  on  trial, 
and  admitted  into  the  connexion  the  following  year.  The 
six  English  preachers,  with  Robert  Strawbridge,  the  local 
preacher,  including  the  three  young  men,  make  up  the  ac- 
count of  ten,  as  constituting  the  conference.    Before  this 
conference  of  six  or  seven  British  subjects,  three  great  ques- 
tions were  proposed  and  answered; — answered,  it  would 
seem,  by  the  six  Englishmen.    It  would  have  been  useless 
for  Mr.  Strawbridge  to  have  objected  to  their  views:  and  it 
is  not  probable  that  any  one  of  the  three  young  men,  just  re- 
ceived on  trial,  was  prepared  to  look  forward  to  ultimate  con- 
sequences, or  to  make  objections  to  the  resolutions  of  those, 
from  whom  they  were  ready  to  receive  instruction. 
5 


34 


METHODIST  EPISCOPACT. 


"  The  first  question  was,  '  ought  not  the  authority  of  Mr, 
Wesley,  and  that  conference,  to  extend  to  the  preachers  and 
people  in  America,  as  well  as  in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland? '  * 
In  course,  the  English  preachers  answered,  yes.  And  the 
remaining  four  thought  of  no  other  answer. 

"  The  societies  at  that  time  amounted  to  eleven  hundred 
and  sixty.  But  they  had  no  part  in  the  transaction.  The 
six,  or  seven,  or  ten  preachers  determined  for  them  and  all 
others  who  might  afterwards  be  disposed  to  unite  with  them, 
that  the  whole  of  them  should  be  subject  to  '  the  authority  of 
Mr.  Wesley,  and  that  conference.' 

"  The  second  great  question  proposed,  was: '  ought  not  the 
doctrine  and  discipline  of  the  Methodists,  as  contained  in 
the  minutes,  to  be  the  sole  rule  of  our  conduct,  who 
labour  in  the  connexion  wilh  Mr.  Wesley,  in  America  ?'  To 
this  question,  they  all  answered,  '  yes.'  Reformers  think, 
the  word  of  God  ought  to  have  been  the  sole  rule  of 
their  conduct,  and  not  '  the  commandments  of  men.'  By 
this  first  question  and  answer,  they  had  '  assumed  '  the  pre- 
rogative, to  subject  all  the  American  preachers  and  people, 
who  had  associated  as  Methodists,  and  all  who  might  be  in- 
clined to  unite  with  them,  to  £  the  authority  of  Mr.  Wesley, 
and  that  conference.'  By  the  second  question  and  answer, 
they  '  assumed '  the  high  prerogative  of  prescribing  to  all 
American  Methodist  preachers  the  '  sole  rule  of  their 

CONDUCT.' 

"  The  third  great  question,  which  was  proposed  as  being 
inferable  from  the  two  preceding,  evinces  their  despotic  cha- 
racter and  design,  and  reads  as  follows,  viz:  '  If  so,  does  it 
not  follow,  that  if  any  preachers  deviate  from  the  minutes, 
we  can  have  no  fellowship  with  them  till  they  change  their 

*"  This  was  the  first  formal  assumption  of  these  high  prerogatives." 


METHODIST  EPISCOPACY. 


35 


conduct?'  To  this  again,  they  answered,  'yes.'  Now,  to 
place  these  proceedings  in  their  proper  light,  let  it  be  recol- 
lected, that  the  Methodist  societies  under  the  authority  of  Mr. 
Wesley,  in  England,  &c,  did  not  constitute  a  church,  separate 
and  distinct  from  the  established  Church  of  England;  they 
were  generally  made  up  of  members  of  the  church.  Mr. 
Wesley  was  a  regularly  ordained  presbyter  of  the  national 
establishment.  It  was,  therefore,  a  very  large  '  assumption'' 
of  authority  in  the  case  of  Mr.  Wesley,  himself,  in  Great 
Britain,  to  require  the  submission  of  a  people,  under  the  pas- 
toral care  of  other  ministers.  But  when  these  six  English- 
men crossed  the  Atlantic,  assembled  themselves  in  Philadel- 
phia, and  placing  themselves  under  the  ban  of  Mr.  Wesley's 
authority  in  England,  asserted  their  intention  to  rule  over  all 
the  Methodist  preachers  and  societies  then  existing,  or  that 
might  ever  afterwards  have  an  existence  in  America; — this 
was  '  framing  a  church  government,  it  was  shaping  a  code 
and  making  ecclesiastical  laws,  according  to  their  own 
model,'  sure  enough.    Our  brother  Walker's  view  is  correct. 

"  The  authority  of  this  first  conference,  commenced  as 
above  stated,  and  the  dictatorial  attitude  which  these  six 
Englishmen  then  assumed,  was  so  continued  and  made  effi- 
cient in  the  training  and  management  of  the  young  preach- 
ers, raised  up  in  America,  and  in  the  formation  and  drilling 
of  the  societies  through  their  instrumentality,  thai  within  the 
term  of  little  more  than  twelve  years,  things  were  in  readi- 
ness for  the  formation  of  an  establishment,  by  which  all 
power  is  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  travelling  preachers,  and 
through  which,  they  have  gained  a  degree  of  ascendency 
over  the  people,  suflicent  to  induce  them, 1  without  any  itin- 
erant suggestion  or  influence,  whatever,'  to  expel  from  their 
communion,  faithful  servants  of  Jesus  Christ,  for  having  the 
boldness  to  call  in  question,  the  legitimacy  or  reasonable- 


36 


METHODIST  EPISCOPACY. 


ness,  of  a  system  of  church  government,  which  still  retains 
the  powers  so  'assumed.' 

"  The  mighty  influence  of  these  English  preachers,  and 
their  manner  of  exercising  it  in  view  of  its  ultimate  object, 
will  be  more  satisfactorily  understood  by  attending  to  an 
additional  sketch  or  two  from  the  history  of  those  early 
times. 

"  From  the  date,  1773,  the  revolutionary  troubles  inter- 
rupted the  progress  of  the  work  for  several  years;  and  we 
read  in  the  preface  of  Lee's  History  of  the  Methodists,  &c, 
page  5,  '  there  have  been,  in  general,  very  many  errors  and 
imperfections  in  the  minutes  of  the  Annual  Conferences.' 
We  shall,  therefore,  take  no  notice  of  them  from  the  year 
1773  till  1779.  In  this  year,  1779,  two  conferences  were 
held.  One  at  Mr.  F.  White's,  in  Delaware,  the  place  of  Mr. 
Asbury's  retirement; — the  other  at  the  Broken-back  church, 
in  Fluvanna  county,  Virginia.  According  to  the  large  min- 
utes which  were  published  in  1813,  it  appears  that  on  the 
28th  April,  1779,  sixteen  preachers  attended  the  conference 
at  Mr.  White's;  and  thirty-two  at  the  Broken-back  church, 
on  the  18th  of  May  following; — twenty-two  days  only,  after 
the  conference  at  Mr.  White's.  The  number  of  preachers 
reckoned  for  the  two  conferences  is  forty-nine.  *  We  have 
been  told,  however,  that  the  conference  at  Mr  White's,  was 
attended  by  Freeborn  Garretson,  Joseph  Hartly,  William 
Glendenning,  Daniel  Ruff,  Joseph  CromwTell,  Thomas  S. 
Chew,  Thomas  McClure,  Caleb  B.  Peddicord,  John  Cooper, 
William  Gill,  and  William  Waters,  who,  together  with  Mr. 
Asbury,  made  up  twelve  in  number.  If  this  communica- 
tion was  erroneous,  and  the  true  number  was  sixteen,  it  will 

*  "  There  must  have  been  one  absent,  whose  name  was  afterwards 
inserted." 


METHODIST  EPISCOPACY. 


37 


not  materially  change  the  view  which  we  propose  to  take  of 
these  two  conferences. 

"  The  conference  at  Mr.  White's,  was  convoked  by  Mr. 
Asbury,  and  if  sixteen  in  number,  it  consisted  of  less  than  one- 
third  of  all  the  preachers  who  ought  to  have  been  present,  in 
order  to  do  the  weighty  business  which  was  done  by  them. 

"  One  of  the  questions  proposed  and  answered,  was  as 
follows: 

"*  Ought  not  brother  Asbury  to  act  as  general  assistant  in 
America  ? 

"'Ans.  He  ought.  1st,  On  account  of  his  age.  2d,  Be- 
cause originally  appointed  by  Mr.  Wesley.  3d,  Being  join- 
ed with  Messrs.  Rankin  and  Shadford,  by  express  order  from 
Mr.  Wesley.' 

"  Another  question  proposed  and  answered  by  the  same 
conference,  was  as  follows,  viz: 

"  'How  far  shall  his  (brother  Asbury's)  power  extend  ? 

"  <  Ans.  On  hearing  every  preacher,  for  and  against  what 
is  in  debate;  the  right  of  determination  shall  rest  with  him, 
according  to  the  minutes.'  That  is,  his  power  in  America, 
shall  be  equal  to  Mr.  Wesley's  in  England. 

"  The  appointment  of  a  general  assistant,  and  the  adop- 
tion of  a  resolution  conferring  upon  him  such  plenary  power, 
was  an  act  of  the  greatest  importance.  At  the  time  when 
this  was  done  by  eleven,  or  if  we  admit  it,  by  fifteen,  there 
were  thirty-two  other  preachers,  all  absent.  But  the  eleven, 
or  say  fifteen,  1  assumed '  the  prerogative  to  say  for  the  whole 
forty-nine,  that  Mr.  Asbury  '  ought '  to  rule  over  them  all, 
after  the  manner  above  stated.  To  judge  rightly  of  the  ex- 
tent of  this  '  assumption,'  it  must  be  recollected,  that  the 
regular  conference  *  was  expected  to  meet  in  about  twenty 

*"  Freeborn  Garretson,  in  his  last  letter,  recognizes  this  as  the  regular 
Conference." 


3S 


METHODIST  EPISCOPACV. 


days,  in  Fluvanna  county,  Virginia,  where,  in  fact,  thirty- 
two  did  meet  and  pass  resolutions,  and  adopted  measures, 
promising  to  be  more  consistent  with  independent  American 
views  of  church  government.  To  make  this  measure  plaus- 
ible, Mr.  Asbury  held  out  this  conference  as  one  prepara- 
tory to  the  conference  at  Broken-back  church,  and  appealed 
to  a  similar  instance  in  Mr.  Wesley's  administration,  in  Eng- 
land:— not  seeming  to  have  perceived,  that  this  appeal  im- 
plicated his  assumption  of  a  standing  parallel  with  that  of 
Mr.  Wesley.    And  it  is  the  assumption  of  which  we  complain. 

"  In  1780,  24th  April,  a  part  of  the  preachers  met  in  Bal- 
timore, it  would  seem,  at  the  instance,  and  under  the  special 
influence  of  Mr.  Asbury.  Shall  not  this  conference  be  con- 
sidered to  have  been  a  preparatory  one,  as  well  as  that  which 
met  the  year  preceding,  at  Mr.  White's  ?  The  regularly  ap- 
pointed conference  was  expected  to  meet  at  the  Manakin 
Town,  in  Virginia,  on  the  8th  day  of  next  month,  two  weeks 
from  that  time.  This  second  preparatory  conference  was 
composed  of  about  fourteen  or  fifteen  young  men,  nine  of 
whom  attended  the  conference  at  Mr.  White's.  To  these 
nine  were  added,  Messrs.  John  Hagerty,  Richard  Garretson, 
Micajah  Debruler,  Joshua  Dudley,  Philip  Cox,  perhaps, 
and  John  Tunnell.  The  large  minutes  would  lead  to  the 
supposition  that  the  conference  consisted  of  twenty-four. 
But  there  were  at  least  five  young  men  received  on  trial, 
which  would  make  the  number  of  acting  members  to  be 
nineteen.  The  minute  seems  to  be  marked  with  uncertain- 
ty. It  is  obvious,  however,  that  the  whole  number  of  the 
preachers,  as  stated  for  the  year  1780,  is  forty-two.  In 
course,  that  nineteen  of  them  met  in  Baltimore; — we  will 
say  nineteen,  in  order  to  conform  to  the  minute,  and  these 
nineteen  '  assumed  '  the  power  to  '  nullify'  the  proceedings 
of  the  regular  conference, — of  the  thirty-two  who  met  the 
preceding  year,  at  the  Broken-back  church,  in  Virginia. 


METHODIST  EPISCOPACY. 


39 


"  Three  questions  were  proposed  and  answered  in  accom- 
plishing this  nullification,  viz: 

" '  Quest.  20.  Does  this  whole  conference,'  [all  these 
nineteen  preachers,]  '  disapprove  the  step  our  brethren  have 
taken  in  Virginia? 

"  '  Ans.  Yes. 

" '  Ques.  21.  Do  we  look  upon  them  no  longer  as  Meth- 
odists, in  connexion  with  Mr.  Wesley  and  us,  till  they  come 
back  ? 

" '  Ans.  Agreed. 

"  (  Ques.  26.  What  must  be  the  conditions  of  our  union 
with  our  Virginia  brethren? 

"  f  Ans.  To  suspend  all  their  administrations  for  one  year, 
and  all  meet  together  in  Baltimore.' 

"  And  was  not  this  the  most  absolute  dictation  ?  To  us  it 
has  that  appearance. 

"  Mr.  Asbury's  influence  must  have  been  very  considerable, 
or  he  could  not  have  succeeded  in  carrying  into  effect,  mea- 
sures so  inconsistent  with  the  rights  of  the  preachers.  Un- 
der that  influence  a  few  of  them  '  assumed '  the  right  to  act 
for  the  whole,  in  declaring  him  the  General  Assistant,  and 
in  awarding  to  him  a  degree  of  power,  totally  incompatible 
with  American  views  of  government  of  any  kind.  Under 
the  same  influence,  another  preparatory  conference  '  assum- 
ed' the  right  to  nullify  the  proceedings  of  a  majority,  and 
actually  to  declare  the  majority  excluded  from  the  fellow- 
ship of  Mr.  Wesley  and  themselves,  unless  they  would  sub- 
mit to  the  dictation  of  the  minority,  and  show  their  obedi- 
ence by  a  strict  regard  of  that  dictation  for  one  year,  and 
then  present  themselves  at  Baltimore,  ready  for  further  or- 
ders. 

"  The  Virginians,  although  they  had  some  disposition  to 
assert  their  rights,  were  not  able  to  resist  the  influence  of 


40 


METHODIST  EPISCOPACY. 


Mr.  Asbury,  whose  authority  was  already  admitted  by  the 
preachers  to  the  North.  We  read  in  Lee's  History,  page  73, 
that  Mr.  Asbury  '  met  with  the  preachers  in  conference  at 
Baltimore,'  as  has  been  already  mentioned.  He  then  visited 
his  brethren  in  Virginia,  and  attended  the  conference  at  the 
'  Manakin  Town,'  ***  and  '  had  to  exert  all  his  powers,  and  to 
use  all  possible  prudence,  in  order  to  bring  about  a  settled 
peace  and  union  among  all  the  preachers.'  He  might  have 
said,  in  order  to  bring  all  the  preachers  into  the  state  of  sub- 
mission, proposed  and  established  by  the  eleven,  at  Mr. 
White's.  It  would  seem,  that  the  Virginians  could  not  per- 
ceive at  first  sight,  the  weight  of  the  reasons  assigned  for 
making  Mr.  Asbury  general  assistant,  and  clothing  him  with 
absolute  power.  The  eleven  had  said  he  '  ought'  to  act  in 
that  capacity,  because  of  his  age.  And  how  old  was  he  ?  In 
1771,  when  he  came  to  America,  he  was  twenty-six.  In 
1779,  he  was  thirty-four.  Virginians  could  not  feel  suffi- 
cient weight  in  thirty-four  years,  to  justify  the  appoint- 
ment. But  the  eleven  had  two  additional  reasons,  or  at 
least,  one  additional  reason,  twice  told,  so  as  to  seem  to 
have  had  three.  They  said  he  ought  to  act  as  general  as- 
sistant, because  1  he  was  originally  appointed  by  Mr.  Wes- 
ley.' Virginians  knew,  that  Mr.  Wesley  did  not  originally 
appoint  him  to  act  as  general  assistant,  but  as  an  assistant 
only,  and  as  inferior  to  Mr.  Rankin.  But  to  guard  against 
this  exception,  which  appears  to  have  been  anticipated  by 
them,  they  state  the  reason  over  again,  and  admit  the  truth 
of  the  case,  as  if  it  were  a  third  reason,  and  say,  '  he  ought 
to  act  as  general  assistant,  because  he  was  joined  with 
Messrs.  Rankin  and  Shadford,  by  express  order  from  Mr. 
Wesley.'  Virginians  knew,  that  Mr.  Wesley  appointed  one 
general  assistant,  and  no  more, — Mr.  Rankin;  and  that 
Messrs.  Shadford  and  Asbury,  were  assistants  to  Mr.  Ran- 


METHODIST  EPISCOPACY. 


11 


kin.  They  were  not  misinformed  in  respect  to  this  matter. 
Mr.  Rankin  travelled  at  large  himself,  and  appointed  to 
Messrs.  Shadford  and  Asbury,  from  year  to  year,  their  res- 
pective circuits  and  stations.  As  to  the  motive  of  Mr.  As- 
bury, and  those  entering  into  his  views,  in  aiding  and  sus- 
taining him  in  these  measures,  by  which  he  was  daily  gain- 
ing new  accessions  of  power,  we  shall  say  nothing  to  the 
disparagement  of  his  reputation.  Mr.  Wesley,  had  set  the 
dictatorial  example.  Mr.  Asbury,  thought  it  best  to  follow 
on  in  his  footsteps; — and,  that  he  considered  his  course  to  be 
apostolical,  his  own  journal  bears  ample  testimony.  But  in 
view  of  the  principles  of  government,  it  is  undeniably  true, 
that  he  had  not  any  other  than  an  '  assumed'  authority,  to 
convoke  and  organize  a  conference  of  twelve  of  the  preach- 
ers, when  the  whole  number  of  them  was  forty-nine.  And 
when  it  is  considered,  that  this  '  assumption  '  was  intended 
to  forestall  the  regular  conference,  that  was  so  soon  to  meet 
at  Broken-back  church,  we  are  compelled  to  feel  toward  the 
measure,  the  greater  objection.  This  unauthorized  confer- 
ence, had  no  right  to  appoint  Mr.  Asbury,  general  assistant. 
The  writer  of  the  minute  seems  to  have  been  conscious  of 
this,  and  the  questions  which  were  proposed  and  answered 
by  the  Englishmen  in  1773,  as  well  as  those  which  were 
proposed  and  answered  at  Mr.  Asbury's  conference,  at 
Mr.  White's,  were  framed  accordingly.  When  they  had 
respect  to  the  authority  of  the  preachers,  in  the  instance  of 
1773,  and  to  the  appointment  of  Mr.  Asbury,  in  the  instance 
of  the  Delaware  conference ;  they  were  made  to  read  thus : 
'  Ought  not  the  authority,'  &c.?  '  Ought  not  the  doctrine,' 
&c.  And  <  ought  not  brother  Asbury,  to  act  as  general  as- 
sistant in  America  ?'  As  if  it  were  a  matter  of  doubt.  And 
yet  their  decisions  were  acts  of  legislative  purpose;  and  the 
question,  which  was  intended  to  mark  the  extent  of  Mr.  As- 
6 


4-2 


METHODIST  EPISCOPACY. 


bury's  power,  is  obviously  imperative;  as  thus:  '  How  far 
shall  his  power  extend  ?'  The  Conference  which  was  con- 
vened at  Baltimore,  consisting  only  of  a  part  of  the  preach- 
ers, and  obviously  intended  to  forestall  the  depending  con- 
ference at  the  Manakin  Town,  had  none  other  than  an  '  as- 
sumed' authority  to  nullify  the  proceedings  of  the  majority 
at  Broken-back  church.  Nevertheless,  things  went  on  af- 
ter this  manner,  and  Mr.  Asbury  continued  to  gain  such  an 
ascendency  over  the  south  as  well  as  over  the  north,  that  as 
early  as  the  year  1782,  he  had  pretty  well  secured  all  that 
was  necessary.  '  The  conference  in  the  north,'  says  Mr. 
Lee,  '  was  of  the  longest  standing,  composed  of  the  oldest 
preachers;  it  was  allowed  greater  privileges  than  that  in  the 
south;  especially  in  making  rules  and  forming  regulations  for 
the  societies.  Accordingly,  when  any  thing  was  agreed  to, 
in  the  Virginia  conference,  and  afterwards  disapproved  of, 
in  the  Baltimore  conference,  it  was  dropped.  But  if  any 
rule  was  fixed  on  at  the  Baltimore  conference,  the  preachers 
in  the  south  were  under  the  necessity  of  abiding  by  it.' 
With  these  things  in  view,  we  cannot  be  surprized,  that  the 
preachers  were  prepared  by  the  year  1784,  for  the  adoption 
of  an  episcopal  form  of  church  government  so  constructed, 
as  to  exclude  the  people  and  local  preachers  from  their  con- 
ferences, and  secure  to  themselves  and  their  successors,  all 
power  to  legislate,  and  all  authority  to  execute  the  discipline 
of  their  church. 

"  It  is  due  to  the  lay  brethren,  to  state,  that  all  these  mat- 
ters were  conducted  by  the  preachers  alone.  The  people  had 
no  part  nor  lot  in  the  matter." 

The  following  account  of  the  unathorized  assumption  of 
the  title  of  "  bishop"  by  those  whom  Mr.  Wesley  had  ap- 
pointed, in  1784,  plain  "  superintendents,"  may  also  serve 
to  throw  some  light  on  the  early  history  of  Methodist  epis- 


METHODIST  EPISCOPACY. 


43 


eopacy.  It  is  taken  from  Lee's  "  Short  History,"  &c.  pp. 
127—129:  — 

M  In  the  course  of  this  year,"  [17S7,  or  three  years  after 
the  organization  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,]  "  Mr. 
Asbury  reprinted  the  General  Minutes;  but  in  a  different  form 
from  what  they  were  before.  The  tittle  of  this  pamphlet  was 
as  follows: 

"  'A  Form  of  Discipline  for  the  Ministers,  Preachers  and 
Members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  America,'  &c. 

"  In  this  discipline,  there  were  thirty-one  sections,  and  six- 
ty-three questions,  with  answers  to  them  all. 

"  The  third  question  in  the  second  section,  and  the  an- 
swer, read  thus: 

"  '  Q.  Is  there  any  other  business  to  be  done  in  conference  ? 

"  '  A.  The  electing  and  ordaining  of  bishops,  elders,  and 
deacons.' 

"  This  was  the  first  time  that  our  superintendents  ever 
gave  themselves  the  title  of  bishops  in  the  minutes.  They 

CHANGED  THE  TITLE  THEMSELVES  WITHOUT  THE  CONSENT 

of  the  conference;  and  at  the  next  conference  they  asked 
the  preachers  if  the  word  bishop  might  stand  in  the  minutes; 
seeing  that  it  was  a  scripture  name,  and  the  meaning  of  the 
word  bishop,  was  the  same  with  that  of  superintendent."  [!! !] 
"  Some  of  the  preachers,"  continues  Mr.  Lee,  "  opposed 
the  alteration,  and  wished  to  retain  the  former  title;  but  a 
majority  of  the  preachers  agreed  to  let  the  word  bishop  re- 
main; and  in  the  annual  minutes  for  the  next  year,  the  first 
question  is,  '  Who  are  the  bishops  of  our  church  for  the  Uni- 
ted States  ?' 

"  In  the  third  section  of  this  form  of  discipline,  and  in  the 
sixth  page,  it  is  said,  '  we  have  constituted  ourselves  into  an 
episcopal  church,  under  the  direction  of  bishops,  elders,  dea- 
cons and  preachers,  according  to  the  form  of  ordination  an- 


44 


METHODIST  EPISCOPACY. 


nexed  to  our  Prayer  Book,  and  the  regulations  laid  down  in 
this  form  of  discipline.'  From  that  time  the  name  of  bishop 
has  been  in  common  use  among  us,  both  in  conversation 
and  in  writing." 

I  shall  not  pursue  this  part  of  the  subject  any  further, 
because,  although  the  question  whether  Mr.  Wesley  did  or 
did  not  recommend  the  episcopal  form  of  church  govern- 
ment, may  be  regarded  as  highly  important,  by  Methodists, 
who  entertain  so  great  a  deference  for  his  authority,  yet,  to 
the  public  at  large,  it  is  not  material. — Those,  however,  who 
may  desire  to  see  this  point  more  fully  discussed,  are  referred 
to  Mr.  McCaine's  History,  and  Dr.  Emory's  Defence. 

But,  supposing  that  Mr.  Wesley  did  ordain  Dr.  Coke  a 
prelatical  bishop,  and  direct  him  to  confer  the  same  episco- 
pal office  on  Mr.  Asbury, — by  what  authority,  we  inquire, 
did  he  presume  so  to  do  ?  Mr.  Wesley  was  a  presbyter  in 
the  Church  of  England,  and  so  was  Dr.  Coke.  Now,  by 
what  ecclesiastical  authority,  could  one.  presbyter  make 
another  presbyter,  a  prelatical  bishop  !  How  could  he  con- 
fer, what  he  did  not  himself  possess  ?  How  could  he  invest 
his  equal  with  an  authority  greater  than  his  own  ?  It  was 
well  remarked,  that  if  Dr.  Coke  was  raised  by  Mr.  Wesley 
to  a  rank  above  a  presbyter,  and  invested  with  superior  pow- 
ers, then  "  he  that  was  sent,  was  greater  than  he  that  sent 
him  !  "  And  the  strange  anomaly  was  seen  of  the  inferior 
giving  his  superior  his  instructions,  and  not  only  calling 
him  to  an  account  for  his  episcopal  acts,  but  actually  pun- 
ishing him  for  his  alleged  misconduct !  !  Or,  as  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Home,  bishop  of  Norwich  observed, — "  if  a  presbyter 
can  ordain  a  bishop,  then  the  greater  is  blessed  of  the  less, 
and  the  order  of  all  things  is  inverted."  The  truth  is,  that 
if  such  an  attempt  was  really  made,  it  was  not  only  necessa- 
rily abortive,  but  supremely  ridiculous  ! 


METHODIST  EPISCOPACY. 


45 


Equally  amusing  it  is  to  observe  the  confusion  of  ideas — 
the  self-contradictions — and  the  awkward  shuffling  of  the 
apologists  of  Dr.  Coke's  "  episcopal"  ordination  in  particu- 
lar, and  the  defenders  of  Methodist  episcopacy  in  general. 
When  pressed  by  the  undeniable  want  of  authority  on  the 
part  of  presbyter  Wesley  to  ordain  Dr.  Coke  a  prelatical 
bishop,  they  deny  that  he  intended  to  make  him  a  bishop  in 
that  sense — and  allege  that  their  bishops  are  not  a  distinct 
order  superior  to  presbyters,  but  only  invested  with  a  supe- 
rior executive  office  !  But  when  they  undertake  to  defend 
their  episcopacy  in  general — and  to  justify  the  exercise  of 
episcopal  rights  and  powers  on  the  part  of  their  bishops, 
why  then,  forsooth,  Mr.  Wesley  did  intend  to  create  Dr. 
Coke,  and  through  him,  his  successors,  bishops  "  in  fact," 
widi  all  the  rights  and  powers  of  prelatical  bishops,  and  they 
affirm  that  their  bishops  do  constitute  a  distinct  order,  &c. 
&c.  !  ! 

Thus,  Dr.  Emory,  in  his  Defence,  sec.  V.,  says, — in  re- 
ply to  the  alleged  absurdity  of  Mr.  Wesley's  attempting  to 
ordain  Dr.  Coke  a  bishop  in  the  common  acceptation  of  that 
term, — "  Now,  if  Mr.  Wesley  ordained  Dr.  Coke  in  no  such 
sense; — if  he  pretended  to  no  such  thing; — if  neither  our 
bishops  nor  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  have  ever  pre- 
tended to  any  such  thing, — what  then  ?  Why,  then  it  fol- 
lows, that  all  the  smart  sayings  on  this  transaction,  which 
have  been  repeated  and  copied  from  my  lord  bishop  of  Nor- 
wich down  to  Mr.  McCaine,  are  wholly  wide  of  the  mark," 
&c. 

Thus,  also,  Dr.  Bond,  sen.,  in  his  "Narrative  and  De- 
fence," page  66,  says — "  As  to  the  charge  of  our  having  at 
any  time  considered  our  bishops  as  a  distinct  ministerial  or- 
der, contra-distinguished  from,  and  superior  to,  presbyters  or 
elders,  it  has  no  foundation  in  fact.    The  very  circumstance 


46 


METHODIST  EPISCOPACY. 


of  our  having  acknowledged  the  right  of  elders  to  ordain,  is 
a  sufficient  refutation  of  the  allegation.  We  consider  the 
episcopacy  a  superior  office  in  the  church — not  a  distinct 
ministerial  order;  and  this  is  the  light  in  which  it  has  been 
considered  ever  since  its  institution." 

This  is  all  very  plain — but  let  us  take,  per  contra,  one  or 
two  specimens  of  their  defence  of  Methodist  episcopacy  in 
general: — 

Dr.  Emory,  in  his  Defence,  sec.  VII.,  thus  writes — "  We 
assert  with  confidence,  that  any  intelligent,  candid  and  im- 
partial man,  who  shall  examine  this  Prayer  Book,  will  say, 
either  that  Mr.  Wesley  intended  to  establish  the  ordination 
of  an  order  of  superintendents,  to  act  as  bishops  in  fact, 
though  with  the  title  of  superintendents;  or,  that  he  did  not 
intend  to  establish  the  ordination  of  any  orders  of  ministers 
at  all;  and  that  '  our  fathers  utterly  mistook  the  whole  affair.' 
The  preceding  remark  is  confirmed  by  this  fact.  The  forms 
recommended  to  us  by  Mr.  Wesley  for  '  ordaining  of  superin- 
tendents, elders,  and  deacons,''  are  precisely  similar  to  those 
used  by  the  Church  of  England,  and  by  the  Protestant  Epis- 
copal Church  in  this  country,  for  ordaining  of  '  bishops, 
priests,  and  deacons.'  The  only  difference  is,  that  Mr.  Wes- 
ley somewhat  abridged  the  forms,  with  a  few  verbal  altera- 
tions, and  substituted  the  title  '  superintendent'  for  '  bishop,' 
just  as  he  did  that  of  '  elder'  for  '  priest.'  So  that  it  is  plain, 
if  by  '  superintendent,'  he  did  not  mean  that  order  of  minis- 
ters denominated  by  those  churches  c  bishops,'  neither  by  '  el- 
der,' did  he  mean  that  order  of  ministers  denominated  by 
those  churches  c  priests.'  In  whatever  sense  distinct  ordi- 
nations constitute  distinct  orders,  in  the  same  sense  Mr. 
Wesley  certainly  intended  that  we  should  have  three  or- 
ders. For  he  undeniably  instituted  three  distinct  ordina- 
tions." !  ! 


METHODIST  EPISCOPACY. 


47 


Thus,  also,  in  the  article  published  by  the  Rev.  Messrs. 
N.  Bangs  and  J.  Emory,  in  Buck's  Theological  Dictionary, 
edition  1825,  it  is  said, — "  As  to  the  government,  the  title 
sufficiently  ascertains  its  distinctive  character,  it  being  in 
fact,  and  in  name,  episcopal.  Three  orders  of  ministers 
are  recognized,  and  the  duties  peculiar  to  each  are  clearly 
defined."  ! !  ! 

Let  us  place  this  testimony  in  juxta-position: — 


Dr.  Bond,  sen. 
11  As  to  the  charge  of  our 
having  at  any  time  consider- 
ed our  bishops  as  a  distinct 
ministerial  order,  contra-dis- 
tinguished from,  and  superior 
to,  presbyters  or  elders,  it  has 
no  foundation  in  fact." 


Dr.  Emory. 
"  In  whatever  sense  distinct 
ordinations  constitute  distinct 
orders,  in  the  same  sense  Mr. 
Wesley  certainly  intended  that 
we  should  have  three  orders. 
For  he  undeniably  instituted 
three  distinct  ordinations." 


Dr.  Bond,  sen.  Mess.  JV.  Bangs  £r  Emory. 

"  We  consider  the  episco-     "  Three  orders  of  ministers 
pacy  a  superior  office  in  the  are  recognized,  and  the  du- 
church — not  a  distinct  minis-  ties  peculiar  to  each  are  clear- 
terial  order;  and  this  is  the  ly  defined." 
light  in  which  it  has  been 
considered  ever  since  its  in- 
stitution." 

Now,  in  reply  to  these  consistent  apologists  and  defend- 
ers, we  say, — that  either  Mr.  Wesley  intended  to  ordain 
Dr.  Coke  a  prelatical  bishop,  or  he  did  not: — Either  the 
bishops  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  are  in  fact  pre- 
latical bishops,  or  they  are  not.  If  Mr.  Wesley  intended, 
by  the  imposition  of  his  hands  and  prayer,  to  raise  Dr.  Coke 
to  a  higher  order  in  the  ministry,  and  to  invest  him  with 


48 


METHODIST  EPISCOPACY. 


episcopal  powers,  in  the  prelatical  sense,  then  did  he  as- 
sume an  authority  which  did  not  belong  to  him,  and  the 
Avhole  transaction  was  a  contemptible  trifling  with  sacred 
things  !  But  if  this  was  not  intended — if  neither  Dr.  Coke, 
nor  his  successors  in  the  episcopal  office,  were  made  pre- 
latical bishops,  then  the  whole  account  of  their  ordination, 
&c,  is  not  only  ludicrous,  but  adapted  to  convey  a  totally 
false  impression  !  To  allege  that  the  Methodist  bishops  are 
not  bishops  in  the  prelatical  sense,  and  yet,  to  adopt  the  form 
of  episcopal  ordination  employed  in  the  Church  of  England, 
and  to  use  the  same  terms  in  describing  their  order,  office, 
succession,  powers,  &c,  which  are  used  in  describing  those 
of  bishops  in  the  common  or  prelatical  sense,  is,  I  repeat  it, 
supremely  ridiculous — if  not  something  a  great  deal  worse  ! 
Who  would  ever  dream,  in  reading  the  pompous  account 
contained  in  their  Book  of  Discipline  of  the  "  episcopal" 
ordination  of  Dr.  Coke  and  Mr.  Asbury,  or  the  forms  direct- 
ed to  be  used  in  the  ordination  of  their  bishops,  taken  al- 
most verbatim  from  the  liturgy  of  the  Episcopal  Church  of 
England,  that  their  bishops  are  not  to  be  regarded  as  bishops 
in  the  usual  or  prelatical  sense  ?  If  nothing  more  is  intend- 
ed, by  their  distinct "  episcopal"  ordination,  than  the  confer- 
ring upon  them,  the  power  of  general  superintendence,  why 
talk  about  "  three  distinct  orders"  ! — or  make  so  much  ado 
about  "  the  validity  of  their  episcopal  ordination"  !  ! — or 
breathe  a  word  about  their  due"  order  and  succession"  !  ! ! 
— Why  borrow  a  form  of  episcopal  ordination  from  a  church, 
which  is  only  used  by  that  church  in  the  ordination  of  prela- 
tical bishops,  and  then  gravely  argue,  that,  because  the  same 
ceremony  is  employed,  the  same  powers,  &c,  are  of  course 
conferred !  !  !  If  men  will  perpetrate  such  nonsense,  they 
need  not  wonder  that  they  are  laughed  at  for  their  simplicity 
— and  by  none  more  heartily  than  Episcopalians  themselves, 
whose  forms  they  so  absurdly  follow. 


METHODIST  EPISCOPACY. 


49 


To  cap  the  climax  of  this  absurdity,  it  appears  that  "  bish- 
op" Coke,  after  he  had  been  made,  as  is  alleged,  a  bishop 
"in  fact,"  by  Mr.  Wesley,  and  of  the  "  validity"  of  whose 
"  episcopal"  ordination  the  General  Conference  say  they 
were  "fully  satisfied," — not  being  himself  satisfied,  applied 
to  bishop  White,  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  for  re- 
ordination  !  In  the  humiliating  letter  which  he  addressed  to 
bishop  White,  he  says, — "  He  (Mr.  Wesley)  did  indeed  so- 
lemnly invest  me,  as  far  as  he  had  a  right  so  to  do,  ! 
with  episcopal  authority,  but  did  not  intend,  I  think,  that  our 
entire  separation  should  take  place.  ****  Our  ordained  min- 
isters will  not,  ought  not,  to  give  up  their  right  of  administer- 
ing the  sacraments.  I  don't  think  that  the  generality  of  them, 
perhaps  none  of  them,  would  refuse  to  submit  to  a  re-ordi- 
nation, if  other  hindrances  were  removed  out  of  the  way"  ! ! 
— that  is,  if  the  knowledge  of  the  learned  languages,  &c, 
usually  required,  could  be  dispensed  with  !  This  extraordi- 
nary letter  of  "  bishop"  Coke  to  bishop  White — which  he 
might  well  ask  the  latter  to  "  burn,"  in  case  he  had  no 
thought  of  improving  the  proposal — and  a  letter  of  bishop 
White  to  his  friend  on  the  subject  of  Dr.  Coke's  proposi- 
tion, may  be  seen  in  Mr.  McCaine's  History  and  Mystery, 
pp.  24—27. 

It  is  remarkable,  also,  that  whenever  this  "  bishop''  left 
this  country  and  returned  to  England,  he  left  his  title  behind 
him — and  becoming  again  plain  Dr.  Coke,  fell  into  the  ranks 
of  Mr.  Wesley's  preachers,  and  received  his  appointments 
and  directions  from  that  presbyter !  !  Moreover,  it  seems 
that,  notwithstanding  the  failure  of  his  application  to  bishop 
White,  about  eight  years  afterwards,  he  wrote  a  letter  to  the 
bishop  of  London,  requesting  him  to  ordain  a  given  number 
of  preachers  to  travel  through  the  connexion  in  England,  for 
7 


50 


METHODIST  EPISCOPACY. 


the  purpose  of  administering  the  sacraments,  agreeably  to 
the  usages  of  the  established  church ! — See  extracts  from 
this  letter  in  Mr.  McCaine's  History,  pp.  30  and  31,  copied 
from  "Drew's  Life  of  Dr.  Coke,"  p.  288. 

Dr.  Emory,  in  apologizing  for  the  letter  of  "bishop" 
Coke  to  bishop  White,  suggests  that  the  doctor  might  have 
made  those  proposals,  "  for  the  sake  of  union  with  the  Pro- 
testant Episcopal  Church,"  without  intending  thereby  to  ac- 
knowledge the  invalidity  of  his  episcopal  ordination-,  and  he 
produces  evidence  to  show,  that  the  Dr.  subsequently  ex- 
pressed his  regret  that  he  had  made  the  application,  and 
that  he  did  not  doubt  the  validity  of  his  episcopal  ordination 
by  Mr.  Wesley.  But  such  subsequent  expressions  of  regret 
— after  the  failure  of  his  proposals,  are  entitled  to  but  little 
weight.  Besides,  is  it  not  strange,  if  he  had  no  doubt  him- 
self of  his  episcopal  ordination,  that  he  should  speak  of  it  in 
that  letter  so  doubtingly  ? — And  particularly,  for  the  purpose 
of  becoming  "  united"  to  a  church,  in  which,  the  preachers 
and  members  of  his  society  in  general,  were  "convinced 
that,  there  was  a  great  deficiency  of  vital  religion"  ! ! ! — And 
still  more  singular,  when  "  the  great  revival  of  religion,"  of 
which  Mr.  Wesley  had  been  "  the  father,"  was  then  "ex- 
tending over  the  earth,  by  the  means  of  the  Methodists"  ! ! ! 

Before  we  pass  from  this  part  of  our  subject,  it  may  be 
proper  to  observe,  that  while  we  cannot  but  regard  their 
"  third  order"  of  ministers  as  illegitimate  and  spurious,  we 
are  not  unwilling,  in  charity,  to  recognize  the  validity  of  the 
presbyterial  ordination  of  the  Methodist  clergy.  According 
to  the  polity  of  the  Church  of  England,  of  which  Mr.  Wes- 
ley was  a  minister,  he  had  no  authority  to  ordain  a  presby- 
ter, much  less  a  bishop, — and  the  commission  of  Dr.  Coke 
was  not  the  act  of  a  presbytery,  regularly  constituted,  but  of 


METHODIST  EPISCOPACY. 


51 


individual  presbyters,  assembled  for  that  purpose,  at  the  in- 
stance of  Mr.  Wesley.  Notwithstanding  these  irregulari- 
ties, however,  as  Dr.  Coke  had  been  previously  and  duly  or- 
dained a  presbyter  in  the  Church  of  England,  and  as  "  other 
regularly  ordained  ministers  assisted"  in  the  ordination  of 
Mr.  Asbury,  &c,  we  are  willing  to  recognize  the  validity  of 
their  presbyterial  ordination,  on  the  ground  of  "  the  exigen- 
cy of  necessity."  And  if,  after  the  organization  of  their 
church,  they  had  chosen  to  elect  a  permanent  moderator  or 
general  superintendent,  and  had  seen  proper  to  invest  him 
with  "  superior  executive  power," — while  we  should  not 
have  thought  that  the  most  excellent  or  scriptural  plan, — 
yet,  we  should  have  regarded  the  transaction  with  becoming 
respect.  But  when  they  confer  upon  their  superintendents 
the  exclusive  title  of  "  bishops" — create  them  by  a  "  distinct 
episcopal  ordination" — describe  them  as  a  "third  order"  of 
ministers — and  speak  of  their  episcopal  "  succession,"  &c, 
it  is  not  possible  for  us  to  view  their  pretensions  and  con- 
duct without  heartily  laughing  at  their  childishness  and  folly. 

In  compassion,  however,  to  our  Methodist  brethren,  and  to 
shield  them,  as  far  as  we  can,  from  the  taunts  of  their  high 
church  prelatical  neighbours,  I  will  republish  the  fact  that, 
the  latter  were  themselves,  within  an  ace,  in  their  "exigen- 
cy of  necessity"  !  of  having  quite  as  spurious  an  episcopate 
as  the  former  !  And,  although  they  fortunately  escaped,  yet 
the  admissions  which  were  made  by  the  gentleman  who  af- 
terwards became  their  senior  bishop,  and  the  arguments  which 
he  adduced  in  favour  of  presbyterial  ordination,  should  cause 
them  with  becoming  modesty  to  hold  their  peace.  In  conse- 
quence of  the  revolutionary  war,  there  was,  it  appears,  great 
difficulty  in  procuring  the  episcopal  ordination  of  ministers  for 
their  churches  in  this  country.    There  being  then  no  bishop 


5-2 


METHODIST  EPISCOPACY. 


here,  the  candidates  were  obliged  to  go  to  England  for  ordi- 
nation— the  churches  in  the  mean  time  suffering  for  want  of 
pastors.  In  this  state  of  things,  the  Rev.  Dr.  White,  after- 
wards consecrated  bishop,  wrote  and  published  a  pamphlet, 
entitled  "  The  Case  of  the  Episcopal  Churches  in  the  Unit- 
ed States  Considered."  In  the  "sketch  of  a  frame  of 
government,"  contained  in  that  work,  and  which  he  pro- 
posed should  be  adopted  by  the  episcopal  churches,  he  says, 
— as  quoted  by  Dr.  Emory  in  his  Defence,  sec.  II: — 

"  In  each  smaller  district  there  should  be  elected  a  gene- 
ral vestry  or  convention,  consisting  of  a  convenient  number, 
(the  minister  to  be  one.) — They  should  elect  a  clergyman 
their  permanent  president;  who,  in  conjuction  with  other  cler- 
gymen to  be  also  appointed  by  the  body,  may  exercise  such 
powers  as  are  purely  spiritual,  particularly  that  of  admitting 
to  the  ministry.'1''    Page  11. 

Again;  "  The  conduct  meant  to  be  recommended,  is, — to 
include  in  the  proposed  frame  of  government  a  general  ap- 
probation of  episcopacy,  and  a  declaration  of  an  intention  to 
procure  the  succession  as  soon  as  conveniently. may  be;  but 
in  the  meantime,  to  carry  the  plan  into  effect  without  wait- 
ing FOR  THE  SUCCESSION."  lb.  p.  15. 

"  It  will  be  said,  we  ought  to  continue  as  we  are,  with 
the  hope  of  obtaining  it  (the  succession)  hereafter.  But," 
continues  Dr.  White,  "  are  the  acknowledged  ordinances  of 
Christ's  holy  religion  to  be  suspended  for  years,  perhaps  as 
long  as  the  present  generation  shall  continue,  out  of  delicacy 
to  a  disputed  point,  and  that  relating  only  to  externals? — All 
the  obligations  of  conformity  to  the  divine  ordinances,  all  the 
arguments  which  prove  the  connection  between  public  wor- 
ship and  the  morals  of  a  people,  combine  to  urge  the  adopt- 
ing of  some  speedy  measures,  to  provide  for  the  public  minis- 


METHODIST  EPISCOPACY. 


53 


try  in  these  churches.  If  such  as  have  been  above  recom- 
mended," (viz:  ordination  by  the  president  clergyman,  in 
conjunction  with  other  clergymen  appointed  by  that  body,) 
"should  be  adopted,  and  the  episcopal  succession  afterward 
obtained,  any  supposed  imperfections  of  the  intermediate  or- 
dinations might,  if  it  were  judged  proper,  be  supplied,  without 
acknowledging  their  nullity,  by  a  conditional  ordination  re- 
sembling that  of  conditional  baptism  in  the  liturgy." — lb. 

But  if  the  "succession"  had  never  been  "afterward  ob- 
tained," there  can  be  no  doubt,  as  Dr.  Emory  well  observes, 
that  Dr.  White  would  have  maintained  the  validity  of  the 
ordinations  on  his  plan,  without  the  succession.  For,  as  Dr. 
White  very  justly  argues  in  another  place, — "  If  even  those 
who  hold  episcopacy  to  be  of  divine  right,  conceive  the  ob- 
ligation to  it  to  be  not  binding  when  that  idea  would  be  des- 
tructive of  public  worship,  much  more  must  they  think  so, 
who  indeed  venerate  and  prefer  that  form  as  the  most  an- 
cient and  eligible,  but  without  any  idea  of  divine  right  in 
the  case.  This,  the  author  (Dr.  White)  believes  to  be  the 
sentiment  of  the  great  body  of  episcopalians  in  America;  in 
which  respect,  they  have  in  their  favour,  unquestionably,  the 
sense  of  the  Church  of  England,  and,  as  he  believes,  the 
opinions  of  her  most  distinguished  prelates,  for  piety,  virtue, 
and  abilities." — lb.,  p.  25. 

In  view  of  the  above  extracts  from  the  writings  of  the 
senior  bishop  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  the  rea- 
der may  judge  what  ground  there  is  for  prelatical  episcopa- 
cy— and  how  readily,  "  in  the  exigency  of  necessity"!  the 
greatest  admirers  of  "  apostolical  succession,"  can  recog- 
nize and  prove  the  validity  of  presbytcrial  ordinations  !  ! 

The  truth  is,  that  according  to  the  Scriptures,  there  is  but 
one  permanent  order  of  ministers  in  the  church  of  Christ. 


64 


METHODIST  EPISCOPACY. 


In  the  New  Testament  they  are  called,  interchangeably, 
"■  bishops,"  and  "  presbyters"  or  elders.  The  term  presbyter 
denoting  their  general  office, — that  of  bishop,  their  particu- 
lar function  as  the  pastors  of  parochial  churches  or  congre- 
gations. Every  pastor,  therefore,  was  originally  styled  a 
bishop,  and  continued  for  a  considerable  time  aflerwads  to 
be  so  called: — nor,  after  the  death  of  the  apostles,  whose 
office  was  extraordinary,  has  there  ever  been,  by  divine  right, 
any  order  of  ministers  superior  to  pastors  in  dignity  and  au- 
thority. 

As  to  the  "  order  of  deacon," — it  is  sufficient  to  remark, 
that  deacons  are  no  order  of  ministers  at  all !  The  office  was 
instituted  for  the  express  purpose  of  rendering  it  unnecessa- 
ry for  ministers  to  attend  to  its  duties  !  From  the  account 
given  of  its  institution,  it  appears  that  some  of  the  poor  com- 
plained that  they  had  been  neglected:  when  the  apostles  said 
to  the  people, — "  It  is  not  reason  that  we  should  leave  the 
word  of  God,  and  serve  tables.  Wherefore,  brethren,  look 
ye  out  among  you  seven  men  of  honest  report,  full  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  and  wisdom,  whom  we  may  appoint  over  this 
business.  But  we  will  give  ourselves  continually  to  prayer, 
and  to  the  ministry  of  the  word." — Acts.  6:  1 — 6.  Dea- 
cons, therefore,  were  appointed — not  to  preach — but  to  take 
care  of  the  poor;  in  order  that  ministers  might  give  them- 
selves without  interruption  to  their  official  and  more  appro- 
priate work. 

After  presenting  the  Scriptural  proof  in  favour  of  ministe- 
rial parity,  and  the  testimony  of  the  earliest  Christian  fathers, 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Miller,  in  his  tract  entitled,  "  Presbyterianism, 
the  Truly  Primitive  and  Apostolical  Constitution  of  the 
Church  of  God,"  page  17,  says, — "  Thus  it  is  evident — the 
ancients  themselves  being  our  witnesses — that,  in  the  apos- 


METHODIST  EPISCOPACY. 


55 


tohc  age,  bishop  and  presbyter  were  the  same;  that,  the  bish- 
ops were  parish  ministers;  that,  in  every  parish,  a  body  of  el- 
ders, with  their  pastor  at  their  head,  conducted  the  govern- 
ment and  discipline;  that,  of  course,  presbyterian  parity  in 
the  gospel  ministry  universally  prevailed;  that  the  rite  of  or- 
dination was  equally  the  prerogative  of  all  who  were  em- 
powered to  preach  the  gospel,  and  administer  the  sacra- 
ments; that  it  was  habitually  performed  "  by  the  laying  on 
of  the  hands  of  the  presbytery  ;"  that  matters  continued  in 
this  situation  for  more  than  a  hundred  years  after  the  close 
of  the  apostolic  age;  that  then  clerical  pride,  ambition  and 
cupidity  began,  more  sensibly  than  in  the  preceding  times, 
to  disclose  their  native  effects;  and  that  the  pastors  of  the 
more  opulent  towns  claimed  special  pre-eminence  and  pow- 
ers, as  peculiarly  the  successors  of  the  apostles,  which,  by 
little  and  little,  were  admitted,  and  at  length,  permanently 
established.  Thus  were  parochial  bishops,  or  the  pastors 
of  single  congregations,  gradually  transformed  into  dioces- 
an, or  prelatical  bishops,  and,  under  an  old  and  familiar  ti- 
tle, a  new  office  artfully  introduced;  until,  in  the  fourth  cen- 
tury, when  Christianity  became  the  established  religion  of 
the  empire,  when  the  clergy  were  pampered  by  imperial 
bounty,  defended  by  imperial  authority,  and  their  honours  ar- 
ranged according  to  the  gradations  of  rank,  which  were  ob- 
tained in  the  state;  all  traces  of  primitive  simplicity  and  pu- 
rity were  lost  in  the  plans  and  splendour  of  worldly  policy. 
Bishops  became  '  lords  over  God's  heritage,'  rather  than  '  ex- 
amples to  their  flocks.' " 

Those  who  wish  to  see,  in  a  small  compass,  a  most  tri- 
umphant refutation  of  the  claims  of  prelatical  or  diocesan 
episcopacy,  as  well  as  a  most  satisfactory  establisment  of  the 
scriptural  doctrine  of  ministerial  parity,  are  referred  to  the 


56 


METHODIST  EPISCOPACY. 


tract  of  Dr.  Miller,  from  which  we  have  made  the  foregoing 
extract. — And  high  church  episcopalians  in  particular,  are 
respectfully  referred  to  the  sensible  pamphlet  of  their  late  se- 
nior bishop  beforementioned. 

Having  thus  disposed  of  the  origin,  &c.  of  Methodist 
"  episcopacy,"  I  will  proceed,  in  the  next  chapter,  to  expose 
the  true  character  of  the  government  and  discipline  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


GOVERNMENT   AND  DISCIPLINE. 

The  government  is  anti-republican,  because  all  the  legislative  and  execu- 
tive power  is  in  the  hands  of  their  clergy — the  laity  have  no  represent- 
ation in  the  General  or  Annual  Conference,  and  of  course  have  no 
voice  in  the  government. — The  discipline  is  tyrannical,  because  the 
members  are  amenable  to  any  rules  and  regulations  which  it  may 
please  their  clergy  from  time  to  time  to  agree  upon — and  because  the 
usual  forms  of  law  and  justice  are  not  constitutionally  prescribed  and 
secured  in  the  trial  of  church  members, — such  a  system  is,  in  its  ten- 
dency, dangerous  to  public  liberty  and  the  free  institutions  of  the  land. 
— The  truly  republican  character  of  the  government  and  discipline  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church. 

The  government  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  is 
anti-republican,  because  all  the  legislative  power  is  in  the 
hands  of  the  itinerant  ministry,  exclusively^  and  without  re- 
sponsibility. In  other  words,  the  people  have  no  represent- 
ation in  the  General  Conference,  which  body  possesses  the 
power  of  legislation; — the  people,  therefore,  have  no  voice 
in  the  making  of  the  laws  by  which  they  are  governed,  and 
no  means  of  bringing  their  clerical  legislators  to  an  account 
for  the  character  of  their  legislation  ! — They  must  submit  to 
be  governed  as  the  itinerant  preachers  please,  or  be  expelled 
from  the  communion  of  the  church ! 

That  the  whole  legislative  power  of  the  church  is  in  the 
hands  of  the  General  Conference,  is  evident,  from  the  fol- 
lowing extracts  from  the  Book  of  Discipline,  chapter  I., 
section  3. — "  The  General  Conference  shall  be  composed  of 
one  member  for  every  twenty-one  members  of  each  Annual 
8 


GOVERNMENT   AND  DISCIPLINE. 


Conference,  to  be  appointed  either  by  seniority  or  eh'oice,  at 
the  discretion  of  such  Annual  Conference:  yet  so  that  such 
representatives  shall  have  travelled  at  least  four  full  calendar 
years  from  the  time  that  they  were  received  on  trial  by  an 
Annual  Conference,  and  are  in  full  connexion  at  the  time  of 
holding  the  conference."  ****  "  Who  shall  attend  the  Year- 
ly Conferences  ?  All  the  travelling  preachers  who  are  in  full 
connexion,  and  those  who  are  to  be  received  into  full  con- 
nexion." ****  "The  General  Conference  shall  have  full 
powers  to  make  rules  and  regulations  for  our  church,  under 
the  following  limitations  and  restrictions." — What  these 
limitations  and  restrictions  are,  we  shall  see  presently. 

It  thus  appears,  that  the  General  Conference  is  composed 
of  a  certain  number  of  delegates  from  the  Annual  Conferen- 
ces;— that  the  Annual  Conferences  are  composed  exclusive- 
ly of  itinerant  ministers; — and  that  the  power  of  making 
rules  and  regulations  is  vested  solely  in  the  itinerant  preach- 
ers composing  the  General  Conference.  No  lay  delegates 
are  admitted  into  the  composition  of  the  Annual  Conferen- 
ces, and  of  course  none  into  the  General  Conference;  and, 
consequently,  the  people  have  no  voice  in  the  government,  to 
which,  nevertheless,  they  are  held  amenable  under  pain  of 
excommunication  or  expulsion  ! 

It  is  true  that  the  powers  of  the  General  Conference  are 
said  to  be  limited  and  restricted;  but  of  what  avail  are  these 
alleged  "limitations  and  restrictions,"  when  it  is  "  provided, 
nevertheless,"  that  a  certain  number  of  the  preachers,  (with- 
out the  consent,  or  even  against  the  will  of  the  people,)  ''shall 
suffice  to  alter  any  of  the  above  restrictions,  excepting  the 
first  article"  !  ! — Discipline,  chap.  I.,  sec.  3.  And  with  re- 
gard to  "  the  first  article,"  which  relates  to  the  doctrines  of 
the  church,  the  exception  is  of  little  practical  use,  because  it 
is  notorious  that  the  profesied  creed  of  a  denomination  may 


GOVERNMENT   AND  DISCIPLINE. 


59 


remain  unaltered,  while  the  greater  part  of  those  who  formal- 
ly subscribe  it  are  grossly  heretical.  Look,  for  example,  at 
the  Church  of  England,  the  avowed  model  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church; — her  Calvinistic  creed  has  never  been 
"  altered,"  and  yet  the  Rev.  John  Wesley  and  hundreds  of 
other  Arminian  preachers  have  subscribed  it — not  "for  sub- 
stance" merely — but  as  really  teaching  Arminianism  itself!  ! 
And  if  the  "  thirty-nine  articles,"  and  the  "  homilies"  of 
the  Church  of  England,  can  be  construed  into  Arminianism, 
without  alteration, — then,  as  easily,  and  as  honestly,  might 
the  present  vague  and  brief  Arminian  articles  of  Methodism, 
without  modification  or  change,  be  construed  into  scriptural 
Calvinism  !  But  who  shall  judge  whether  the  preachers  have 
become  heretical  in  doctrine  or  not  ?  Have  the  people  any 
part  in  their  trial  ?  If  the  great  body  of  the  people  should 
be  convinced  that  their  ministers  had  changed  their  doctri- 
nal sentiments,  have  they  any  redress  ?  Could  they  exercise 
any  power  in  their  suspension  from  the  ministry,  or  even 
prevent  them  from  the  occupancy  of  their  pulpits?  No,  they 
have  no  legal  or  constitutional  redress.  The  preachers  may 
change,  at  will,  and  without  responsibility,  any  of  the  pre- 
sent "  rules  and  regulations"  of  the  church;  and  as  to  the 
doctrines,  they  may  believe  and  preach  what  they  please,  so 
that  they  do  not  alter  the  letter  of  the  book,  and  yet  the  peo- 
ple have  no  power  either  to  expel  them  from  the  ministry,  or 
to  eject  them  from  their  parsonages  and  pulpits.  Yea,  more, 
there  is  nothing  to  hinder  the  preachers  from  repealing  that 
verbal  restriction  which  excepts  "the  first  article."  All  that 
would  be  necessary,  would  be  for  them  to  "  agree"  among 
themselves,  that  the  words — "  excepting  the  first  article" — 
should  be  expunged  from  the  book,  and  then  they  might  pro- 
ceed, even  without  this  slight  impediment,  to  alter  the  doc- 
trines of  the  church,  as  they  now  may  the  discipline,  ad  libi- 


60 


GOVERNMENT 


AND  DISCIPLINE. 


turn  !  And  is  there  any  constitutional  method,  by  which  the 
laity  could  prevent  the  repeal  of  this  doctrinal  restriction? — 
or  any  legal  mode  of  redress,  in  case  the  preachers  should 
repeal  it,  and  avowedly  change  the  doctrines  as  they  are  now 
stated  in  the  book  ? 

But  let  us  examine  this  system  of  government  in  detail:  and 
that  I  may  direct  your  attention  more  distinctly  to  the  several 
parts,  I  will  present  them  in  the  form  of  question  and  answer. 

Quest.  Who  make  all  "  the  rules  and  regulations"  of  the 
society  ? 

Ans.  The  General  Conference. — See  Discipline,  chap.  I., 
sec.  3,  which  I  have  already  quoted. 

Q.  Who  compose  the  General  Conference  ? 

A.  The  General  Conference  is  composed  of  representa- 
tives from  the  Annual  Conference. — lb. 

Q.  Who  compose  the  Annual  Conferences  ? 

A.  Itinerant  preachers  exclusively. — lb. 

Q.  Who  compose  the  Quarterly  Meeting  Conferences? 

A.  The  travelling  and  local  preachers,  exhorters,  stewards, 
and  class  leaders  of  the  circuit. — Dis.,  chap  I.,  sec.  5. 

Q.  By  what  rules  and  regulations  are  the  Quarterly  Meet- 
ing Conferences  governed  ? 

A.  By  the  rules  and  regulations  adopted  by  the  General 
Conference,  which  is  composed  exclusively  of  itinerant 
preachers. — Dis.,  chap.  I.,  sec.  3. 

Q.  How  are  the  ministers  stationed  ? 

A.  By  the  "  bishops,"  who  are  elected  exclusively  by 
the  travelling  preachers. — Dis.,  chap.  I.,  sec.  4.  What,  have 
not  the  people  the  right  to  choose  their  own  p.istors  ?  No, 
they  must  receive  any  preacher  whom  the  bishop  may  choose 
to  appoint.  No  matter  how  ignorant,  or  unacceptable,  either 
as  a  man,  or  as  a  preacher,  the  people  must  submit  to  the  ap- 
pointment until  his  time  expires.    And  if  the  bishop  should 


GOVERNMENT   AND  DISCIPLINE. 


61 


send  another  equally  undesirable — yea,  if  they  should  never 
get  a  man  whose  ministry  they  would  prefer,  there  is  no 
remedy,  they  must  succumb  or  leave  the  church  ! 

Q.  Who  nominate  the  stewards? — Surely  the  people  have 
the  right  to  select  and  appoint  these  officers,  as  they  estimate 
the  table  expenses,  &c,  of  the  preachers? 

A.  However  unjust  and  indelicate  it  may  seem,  the 
preachers  have  legislated  to  themselves  the  exclusive  right  of 
nominating  the  stewards,  and  the  Quarterly  Meeting  Confer- 
ence can  elect  from  those  so  nominated  only. — Dis.,  part 
II. ,  sec.  3. 

Q.  Who  appoints  the  class  leaders  ? 

A.  The  preacher  in  charge  appoints  all  the  leaders — and 
changes  or  removes  them  at  his  pleasure. — Dis.,  chap.  I., 
sec.  10. 

Q.  Who  nominates  the  trustees,  by  whom  the  parochial 
property  is  held  ? — Surely  the  people  have  the  right  of  elect- 
ing these  purely  temporal  officers? 

A.  Not  at  all.  The  preacher  claims  the  exclusive  right 
of  nomination,  and  the  vacancies  are  filled  up,  by  the  re- 
maining trustees,  from  those  so  nominated  ! — So  that  the 
congregation  have  not  even  the  privilege  of  assenting  to  the 
nominations  of  the  preacher  ! ! — Dis.,  part  II.,  sec.  2. 

Thus  the  reader  will  perceive,  that  the  ministers  not  only 
make  all  the  laws,  but  they  appoint,  either  directly,  or  indi- 
rectly, all  the  executive  officers — from  the  "  bishops"  down 
to  the  class  leaders  !  The  people  have  no  representation — no 
voice  in  the  legislative  department  of  the  government — and 
they  must  either  passively  receive,  as  executive  officers,  those 
whom  their  clerical  governors  may  choose  to  appoint,  or 
elect  those  only,  whom  it  may  please  their  superiors  to 
nominate! — The  preachers — the  preachers — the  preachers 
are  every  thing — and  the  people — just  nothing  at  all !  !  ! 


GOVERNMENT   AND  DISCIPLINE. 


The  discipline  of  the  Methodist,  Episcopal  Church  is  equal- 
ly anti-republican  and  tyrannical. 

If  a  member  is  accused  of  any  crime,  which  "  is  expressly 
forbidden  by  the  word  of  God,  sufficient  to  exclude  a  person 
from  the  kingdom  of  grace  and  glory,"  the  preacher  has  the 
power  of  arraigning  him  "  before  the  society,  of  which  he  is 
a  member,  or  a  select  number  of  them;"  and  "  if  the  ac- 
cused person  be  found  guilty  by  the  decision  of  a  majority 
of  the  members,  before  whom  he  is  brought  to  trial," — ('  let 
the  minister  or  preacher  who  has  the  charge  of  the  circuit 
expel  him."" — Din.,  chap.  II.,  sec.  7. 

From  this,  it  would  appear,  that  it  is  optional  with  the 
preacher  to  arraign  an  individual  before  the  society,  or  a  com- 
mittee—selected and  appointed  by  himself!  Surely,  if  this 
be  so,  it  is  the  grossest  tyranny — and  maybe  made  subservi- 
ent to  the  worst  of  purposes.  How  easily  could  any  preach- 
er, by  such  a  "packed  jury,"  convict  or  acquit  an  accused 
person,  as  suited  his  favouritism  or  prejudice  ? — Who  would 
submit  to  such  tyranny  in  civil  society  ?  Who  would  allow 
the  civil  judge  to  select  and  appoint  the  jury  ?  Who  would 
yield  the  right  of  challenge  ? — especially,  if  he  saw  the  judge 
appointing  as  jurors,  those  whom  he  knew  to  be  his  personal 
enemies,  or  avowedly  prejudiced  against  his  cause! 

Moreover,  there  is  no  specified  time  allowed  the  accused 
to  prepare  for  his  defence — and  no  constitutional  rules  for 
the  proper  and  equitable  conduct  of  the  trial !  The  preach- 
er may  cite  the  accused  to  appear,  forthwith,  before  the  so- 
ciety, or  his  select  committee;  and  whether  he  is  ready  to 
proceed  with  his  defence  or  not,  the  preacher  is  not  obliged 
by  law,  to  grant  him  any  time  for  preparation  !  And  with 
respect  to  the  manner  in  which  the  trial  shall  be  conducted, 
notwithstanding  the  great  and  sometimes  vital  importance  of 
the  forms  of  justice,  every  thing  is  left  to  the  arbitrary  will 


GOVERNMENT   AND  DISCIPLINE. 


6,1 


of  the  presiding  preacher — no  matter  how  ignorant  or  how 
tyrannical  he  may  be! — lie  lays  down  the  law — he  admits 
or  overrules  evidence,  &c.  &c,  according  to  his  own  judg- 
ment or  discretion  !  And  if  a  majority  of  his  select  commit- 
tee declare  the  accused  guilty  of  the  charges,  the  preacher 
passes  and  executes  the  sentence  of  expulsion!  There  may 
be  extenuating  circumstances — the  guilty  party  may  appear 
in  some  measure  penitent — but  there  does  not  appear  to  be 
any  medium  between  acquittal  or  excommunication ! — A 
reprimand  might  be  sufficient,  or,  at  most,  a  temporary  sus- 
pension from  the  privileges  of  the  church — and,  perhaps,  if 
the  award  were  left  to  the  society  or  committee,  they  would 
inflict  a  just  and  righteous  punishment.  But  no — if  declared 
guilty  of  the  facts  charged,  the  preacher  passes  the  sentence, 
and  the  book  provides  for  no  less  punishment,  in  such  cases, 
than  expulsion ! ! 

And  yet,  notwithstanding  such  tyranny,  if  a  member  dares 
to  "  inveigh  against  the  discipline" — no  matter  how  ortho- 
dox he  may  be  in  doctrine,  or  pious  in  practice — he  is  actu- 
ally liable — according  to  "  the  rules  and  regulations"  adopt- 
ed by  the  preachers,  and  who  make  the  discipline  just  what 
they  please — to  be  expelled  from  the  church! — "  If  a  mem- 
ber of  our  church  shall  be  clearly  convicted  of  endeavouring 
to  sow  dissensions  in  any  of  our  societies,  by  inveighing 
against  either  our  doctrines  or  discipline,  such  person  so 
offending,  shall  be  first  reproved  by  the  senior  minister 
or  preacher  of  his  circuit,  and,  if  he  persist  in  such  per- 
nicious practices,  he  shall  be  expelled  from  the  church." 
— Dis.,  chap.  JJ.,  sec.  7.  What  an  evidence  does  this  des- 
potic provision  afford  of  the  anti-republican  and  tyrannical 
character  of  their  government  and  discipline!  And  yet  it  is 
just  such  a  provision  as  might  be  expected  from  those  who 
have  assumed  to  themselves  the  whole  power  of  government, 


04 


GOVERNMENT  AND  DISCIPLINE. 


and  who  deny  the  people  the  right  of  representation.  But  is 
it  not  monstrous,  not  only  to  refuse  the  people  all  participa- 
tion in  the  making  of  the  discipline,  but  to  deny  them  the 
right  of  "  inveighing"  against  any  of  "the  rules  and  regula- 
tions" which  the  preachers  may  choose  from  time  to  time  to 
enact,  however  unjust  and  despotic  they  may  appear  to 
the  people  to  be  ! — Such  despotism  has  never  been  equalled 
in  this  republican  country,  unless  we  may  find  a  parallel  in 
the  odious  "  alien  and  sedition  law,"  which  our  fathers  repu- 
diated with  abhorrence  ! 

Further.  It  appears  that  if  the  preacher  is  not  satisfied 
with  the  decision  of  the  society,  or  committee  before  whom  an 
individual  has  been  tried,  he  has  the  power  to  refer  the  case 
to  the  next  Quarterly  Meeting  Conference,  where  he  may 
expect  the  decision  to  be  more  in  accordance  with  his  judg- 
ment or  wishes.  It  is  not  enough  that  the  member  has  been 
tried  and  acquitted,  or  condemned  by  the  committee  selected 
by  the  preacher  himself,  but  if  the  decision  is  not  agreeable 
to  him,  he  may  have  the  cause  tried  over  again  by  a  court 
composed  of  officials,  who  are,  as  such,  the  creatures  of  the 
ministry! — "  Nevertheless,  if  in  any  of  the  above  mentioned 
cases,  the  minister  or  preacher  differ  in  judgment  from  the 
majority  of  the  society,  or  the  select  number,  concerning  the 
innocence  or  guilt  of  the  accused  person,  the  trial,  in  such 
case,  may  be  referred  by  the  minister  or  preacher  to  the  ensu- 
ing Quarterly  Meeting  Conference." — Dis.,  chap.  II.,  sec.  7. 

It  is  true,  that,  if  the  party  tried  is  not  satisfied  with  the 
decision  of  the  society  or  committee,  he  may  "  appeal  to  the 
next  Quarterly  Meeting  Conference." — lb.  But  this  privi- 
lege is  delusive,  because  the  "  local  preachers,  exhorters, 
stewards,  and  class  leaders,"  who  compose  that  meeting  in 
conjunction  with  the  travelling  preachers  of  the  circuit,  are 
either  directly  or  indirectly  appointed  by  the  itinerant  preach- 


GOVERNMENT  AND  DISCIPLINE. 


65 


ers — and  the  greater  part,  usually,  of  that  body,  viz:  the 
"  class  leaders,"  are  liable  to  be  removed  by  the  ministers  at 
pleasure  ! — Dis.,  chap.  II.,  sec.  2.  These  officials,  therefore, 
are,  in  the  sense  explained,  the  creatures  of  the  travelling  or 
stationed  preachers;  and  cannot,  therefore,  be  expected  to 
feel  the  same  sympathy  with  the  people,  as  if  they  were 
elected  by  them,  or  were  really  responsible  to  them.  They 
are  not  the  representatives  of  the  people  whom  they  try — 
they  are  not  responsible  to  the  people  for  the  manner  in  which 
they  dispose  of  the  cases  that  are  brought  before  them — 
and,  however  partial  and  unrighteous  their  decisions  may  be, 
the  people  cannot  remove  them  from  office,  and  must  not 
even  "  inveigh"  against  their  tyrannical  acts  under  pain  of 
being  "  expelled  from  the  church"  !  !  On  the  other  hand,  if 
a  majority  of  these  officials,  composing  the  Quarterly  Meet- 
ing Conference,  do  not  please  the  preachers — to  whom  they 
owe  all  their  authority  and  importance — they  may  be,  at  the 
mere  will  of  the  preachers,  superceded  by  others,  who  will  be 
more  subservient !  !  Now,  without  accusing  those  brethren 
with  a  want  of  common  honesty,  or  asserting  that  they  have 
ever  decided  intentionally  wrong  with  a  view  to  retain  the 
favour  of  their  clerical  superiors,  we  may  safely  affirm  that 
their  official  dependence  is  strongly  adapted,  however  uncon- 
sciously to  themselves,  unduly  to  influence  their  minds  and 
bias  their  judgments.  A  court  of  appeal,  whose  decisions 
are  final,  should  be  so  constituted  as  to  be  above  suspicion. 
The  people,  who  are  so  deeply  and  irremediably  affected  by  its 
adjudications,  should  at  least  be  fairly  represented. — At  all 
events,  the  members  composing  such  a  tribunal,  should  not 
be  so  dependent  upon  the  will  of  the  preachers,  nor  so  en- 
tirely irresponsible  to  the  people. 

Having  thus  shown — from  their  own  Book,  the  anti-repub- 
lican and  tyrannical  character  of  their  government  and  dis- 
9 


66 


GOVERNMENT  AND  DISCIPLINE. 


cipline,  I  will  now  quote  the  published  opinions  of  others, 
to  show  that  I  am  by  no  means  singular  in  my  interpreta- 
tions. 

My  first  citation  shall  be  from  the  tract  enlitled,  "  Ques- 
tions and  Answers,  Explanatory  of  the  Government  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  by  the  Rev.  W.  B.  Evans," 
&c.  This  gentleman,  from  his  former  ministerial  connexion 
with  the  church,  is  not  only  well  acquainted  with  the  theo- 
retical principles  of  the  government,  but  also  with  their  prac- 
tical operation,  and  his  deliberately  expressed  and  published 
opinions  are,  therefore,  entitled  to  great  respect.  The  fol- 
lowing extracts  are  taken  from  the  tract  just  named: — 

"  Quest.  What  is  the  nature  of  the  government  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church;  that  is  to  say,  is  it  republican 
or  anti-republican  ? 

u  Jlns.  Anti-republican. 

"  Q.  What  are  we  to  understand  by  a  republican  govern- 
ment ? 

"  A.  It  is  a  government  where  the  sovereign  power  is  in 
the  hands  of  the  people,  or  where  all  parts  of  the  governed 
are  fairly  represented  in  the  legislature." — Page  5. 

"  Q.  But  is  it  not  contended  that  the  government  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  is  republican,  because  persons 
authorized  to  preach,  must  first  be  recommended  by  the  peo- 
ple, and  does  this  not  constitute  them  their  representatives  ? 

"  A.  Some  do  so  contend,  but  others,  (yea,  and  ministers  of 
high  standing)  publicly  thank  God  that  their  government  is 
not  republican,  and  proclaim  in  their  sermons,  that  no  church 
can  have  a  republican  government,  without  dethroning  Jesus 
Christ. 

"  Q.  But  does  not  the  circumstance  of  their  being  so  re- 
commended by  the  people  at  first,  constitute  the  government 
republican  ? 


GOVERNMENT  AND  DISCIPLINE. 


G7 


"A.  No,  for  though  this  be  the  case,  the  people  never 
thought  in  that  act,  of  constituting  them  law  makers,  but  on- 
ly recommended  them  as  suitable  persons  to  preach.  That 
this  is  the  fact,  is  evident:  First,  because  a  majority  so  re- 
commended and  licensed,  never  become  travelling  preach- 
ers, without  which,  they  can  have  no  voice  in  the  govern- 
ment, and  of  course  cannot  be  the  representatives  of  the  peo- 
ple: Second,  many  of  those  who  become  travelling  preach- 
ers, never  go  to  the  General  Conference,  and  consequently 
cannot  represent  any  one  there:  Third,  if  some  few  do,  af- 
ter many  years,  become  members  of  the  General  Conference, 
they  may  have  changed  their  views  very  much  since  they 
were  recommended  to  preach,  and  of  course,  could  not  suit- 
ably represent  the  views  and  wishes  of  the  people  now: 
Fourth,  however  corrupt  they  may  have  become  since  that 
time  in  their  principles,  and  oppressive  in  their  measures,  the 
people  have  no  authority  to  remove  them  from  office  and 
elect  others  in  their  places;  so,  you  see,  this  is  a  curious  kind 
of  republicanism,  and  this  fine  superstructure,  which  has 
been  so  much  harped  upon  among  the  ignorant  and  uninform- 
ed, tumbles  to  the  ground,  for  want  of  a  foundation  to  sup- 
port it. 

"  Q.  But  did  not  the  people,  at  the  organization  of  the 
church,  consent  to  this  kind  of  government  by  conventional 
enactment;  and  if  so,  is  it  not  founded  in  the  will  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  consequently  republican  ? 

"  A.  No,  the  people  were  never  consulted  at  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  they  had  no  repre- 
sentative present:  but  a  few  ministers,  of  themselves,  in  the 
city  of  Baltimore,  in  1784,  framed  the  government  without 
the  concurrence  or  consent  of  the  people,  and  have  held  with 
tenacious  grasp  ever  since,  all  legislative,  judicial,  and  execu- 
tive prerogative. 


68 


GOVERNMENT  AND  DISCIPLINE. 


"  Q.  But  did  they  not  virtually  embrace  and  approve  of 
this  kind  of  government,  in  the  act  of  joining  the  church, 
and  in  this  act  concede  to  the  preachers  the  right  to  make  and 
execute  all  the  laws,  and  will  not  this  make  it  republican  ? 

"  A.  No,  not  one  in  a  hundred,  if  one  in  a  thousand, 
thought  any  thing  about  the  principles  of  government  when 
uniting  with  the  church,  but  were  influenced  in  this  act  by 
entirely  different  considerations. 

"  Q.  But  is  there  not  a  majority  of  the  members  in  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  in  favour  of  this  kind  of  gov- 
ernment, and  is  not  their  peaceable  submission  to  it  an  evi- 
dence of  that  fact;  and  if  so,  is  it  not  founded  in  the  will  of 
the  people,  and  republican  ? 

"  A.  This  is  very  doubtful  and  uncertain,  as  it  has  never 
been  tested;  neither  are  the  preachers  willing  to  submit  it  to 
the  voice  of  the  members  in  a  fair  election,  but  have  told 
them  plainly  that  they  have  no  right  to  a  voice  in  such  mat- 
ters. (See  the  report  of  the  General  Conference  in  1828.)" 
— Ib.,  pp.  7—10. 

"  Q,.  By  whom  are  the  laws  made,  for  the  government  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  ? 

"  A.  By  the  General  Conference. 

"  Q.  Can  no  one  be  elected  a  member  of  the  General  Con- 
ference but  a  travelling  preacher  ? 
"A.  None. 

"  Q.  Can  no  one  vote  for  members  of  the  General  Con- 
ference but  a  travelling  preacher  ? 
"  A.  None. 

"  Q.  May  it  not  then  be  emphatically  called  a  government 
of  travelling  preachers  ? 
"A.  Yes. 

"  Q.  Upon  whom  are  the  laws  of  the  General  Conference 
binding  ? 


GOVERNMENT 


AND  DISCIPLINE. 


69 


"  A.  Upon  the  travelling  and  local  ministers,  and  mem- 
bership. 

"  Q.  Have  the  local  ministers  and  members  any  repre- 
sentatives in  the  law-making  department? 

"  A.  No,  it  is  denied  that  they  have  any  right,  either  nat- 
ural or  acquired,  to  representation.  (See  the  report  of  the 
General  Conference  of  1828.) 

"  Q.  How  did  the  travelling  preachers  get  the  power  to 
legislate  for  the  local  preachers  and  members  without  their 
consent  ? 

"  A.  They  assumed  it. 

"Q.  Is  it  not  contended  by  many,  that  they  have  a  suffi- 
cient check  upon  their  rulers,  by  withholding  their  pecunia- 
ry contributions,  and  consequently,  the  support  of  the  min- 
istry ? 

"A.  Many  use  this  argument  and  think  it  unanswerable. 
"  Q.  Is  it  not  a  good  argument  ? 

"A.  No;  1st.  Because  it  could  never  be  effected;  for 
though  some  might  withhold  their  support,  others  would  not, 
and  in  such  case,  the  deficiency  could  be  supplied  from  the 
immense  book  and  chartered  fund,  which  is  entirely  under 
the  control  of  the  ministers.  ****  4th.  It  would  be  the  ve- 
ry essence  of  rebellion,  and  it  must  be  a  bad  government,  in- 
deed, which  has  no  other  remedy  for  existing  evils  but  re- 
bellion."— Ib.,  pp.  11—14. 

"Q.  How  are  the  members  brought  to  trial  in  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  ? 

"  A.  Before  the  society,  or  a  select  number,  in  the  pre- 
sence of  a  bishop,  elder,  deacon  or  preacher. 

"  Q.  What  time  is  allowed  the  accused  to  prepare  for 
trial  ? 

"  A.  This  depends  entirely  on  the  will  of  the  preacher  in 
charge;  he  may  be  brought  up  forthwith. 


70 


GOVERNMENT   AND  DISCIPLINE. 


"  Q.  Can  the  accused  have  his  choice,  whether  he  will  be 
tried  before  the  society,  or  a  select  number  ? 

"  A.  No,  the  preacher  decides,  and  tries  him  accordingly. 
"  Q.  Who  appoints  the  jury  to  try  the  accused  ? 
"A.  The  preacher  in  charge. 

"  Q.  Is  there  any  inconvenience  arising  out  of  this  power, 
exercised  by  the  preacher  in  charge  ? 

a  A.  Yes,  he  can  pick  a  jury,  either  favourable  or  unfa- 
vourable to  the  accused,  as  he  may  stand  affected. 

"  Q.  Is  the  right  of  challenge  secured  to  the  accused  ? 

"  A.  No,  his  enemies  may  be  kept  on  or  removed  at  the 
pleasure  of  the  preacher. 

"  Q.  Are  there  any  privileges  secured  to  the  accused  ? 

"A.  He  is  allowed  an  appeal  to  the  next  Quarterly  Con- 
ference. 

"  Q.  Upon  whom  are  a  majority  of  the  members  of  the 
Quarterly  Conference  dependent  for  their  office? 

"  A.  On  the  preacher  in  charge,  as  he  appoints  all  the 
leaders;  these  generally  make  a  majority.  He  nominates  the 
stewards,  licenses  the  exhorters,  &c. 

"  Q.  May  not  the  conference  thus  constituted,  be  consid- 
ered in  the  case  of  appeals,  as  the  preacher's  jury  ? 

"  A.  Yes. 

"  Q.  With  all  these  advantages  may  he  not  turn  out  or 
keep  in  whom  he  pleases  ? 

"  A.  It  does  appear  so." — lb.,  pp.  23  and  24. 

The  following  extracts  are  taken  from  a  monthly  periodi- 
cal, entitled,  "  Mutual  Rights  of  the  Ministers  and  Members 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  Edited  by  a  commit- 
tee of  ministers  and  laymen:" — All  of  whom  were,  at  the 
time,  in  connexion  with  the  church,  and  some  of  whom 
had  been  for  many  years  in  the  travelling  and  local  ministry. 
The  main  design  of  this  periodical  was  in  fact,  to  effect  a 


GOVERNMENT   AND  DISCIPLINE. 


71 


peaceable  reform  of  the  government  of  their  church;  and  had 
they  been  allowed  to  proceed  in  their  labours,  they  would, 
no  doubt,  have  succeeded.  But  as  the  bishops  and  travelling 
preachers  were  unable  to  compete  with  their  superior  talents 
and  intelligence,  or  answer  their  weighty  and  conclusive 
arguments  and  proofs,  they  were  arraigned  before  a  "  select 
number,"  and  conveniently  expelled  from  the  church,  for  "  in- 
veighing against  the  discipline  !" — But  to  the  extracts: — 

"To  me,  no  principle  or  maxim  under  heaven,  appears 
more  plain  and  self-evident,  than  that  free  men  should,  either 
in  their  own  persons,  or  in  their  representatives,  have  a  voice 
in  making  the  laws  that  are  to  govern  them.  Plain  as  this 
maxim  is,  however,  it  is  controverted  and  denied  by  the  ene- 
mies of  reform.  They  say,  that  free  men  (other  than  travel- 
ling ministers)  have  no  right  to  legislate  for  the  church — in 
other  words,  that  they  have  no  right  to  govern  themselves  ! 
Does  not  every  one  see  at  once  the  danger,  as  well  as  the 
absurdity  of  such  a  monstrous  doctrine  as  this?  It  strikes 
a  deadly  blow  at  the  very  root  of  religious  liberty;  and  hence 
we  see  the  great  propriety  of  a  speedy  reform  in  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church.  When  such  doctrines  as  the  above 
are  openly  avowed,  and  strongly  advocated  by  men  who  have 
all  power,  and  all  rule,  and  all  authority  in  their  own  hands, 
it  is  time,  high  time,  that  the  members  of  our  church  should 
wake  up  to  a  sense  of  their  condition,  and  exert  them- 
selves by  all  lawful  means,  to  obtain  the  liberty  enjoyed  by 
the  members  of  other  protestant  churches — 1  mean  an  equita- 
ble representation. 

"  Although  not  among  the  laity  myself,  yet  I  am  free  to 
confess,  that  it  would  rejoice  my  heart  to  see  them  raised 
from  their  present  degradation,  and  occupying  an  honoura- 
ble seat  in  the  law-making  department  of  the  church.  This 
is  their  just  and  obvious  right;  and  in  withhold  it  from  them, 


72 


GOVERNMENT  AND  DISCIPLINE. 


is  illiberal  and  unjust  in  the  extreme.  ****  Yes,  sir,  I  love 
my  church,  I  love  her  doctrines,  &c,  and  I  would  to  God, 
that  she  had  such  a  form  of  government,  as  that  I  could  in 
truth,  say — I  love  that  too.  But,  alas  !  here  candour  obli- 
ges me  to  stop:  I  can  go  no  further.  I  cannot  act  the  hypo- 
crite, and  say  I  love  the  government,  when  I  do  not.  How 
can  I  love  a  government  that  is  arbitrary  and  oppressive  in 
its  nature  ? — That  withholds  from  free  men  their  just  and 
dearest  rights — the  right  of  suffrage — the  right  of  self-gov- 
ernment— the  right  of  equal  representation.  No,  indeed, 
sir,  I  can  no  more  love  such  a  government  as  this,  than  I 
can  change  the  essential  properties  of  my  nature.  I  cannot, 
I  will  not  love  what  I  conceive  to  be  essentially  and  radi- 
cally wrong." — Vol.  J.,  pp.  48  and  49. 

"  Let  us  examine  a  few  particulars,  which  constitute  parts 
of  the  system" — [that  is,  of  the  government  and  discipline 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.] 

"  1.  The  travelling  ministry  possess  exclusively  the  le- 
gislative power,  which  they  exercise  over  the  whole  body 
of  the  laity  and  local  preachers  without  responsibility. 

"  2.  The  travelling  ministry,  independently  of  the  mem- 
bership, appoint  all  the  class  leaders. 

"3.  They  nominate  all  the  stewards,  and  the  Quarterly 
Conferences,  a  majority  of  which  are  class  leaders,  make 
their  election  out  of  the  nominations  of  the  preachers. 

"■4.  They  nominate  all  trustees,  and  the  trustees,  out  of 
the  nominations,  according  to  the  discipline,  fdl  all  vacan- 
cies in  their  boards. 

"  5.  They  appoint  the  committees  for  the  trial  of  accused 
members,  and  the  accused  have  no  legal  right  to  object  to 
any  person  so  appointed  by  the  preacheis. 

"  G.  In  all  cases  of  trial,  the  travelling  preacher  sits  as 
judge.    He  may  summon  any  accused  member  to  trial,  and 


GOVERNMENT   AND  DISCIPLINE. 


73 


is  not  obliged  to  famish  the  accused  with  specifications  of 
complaints  or  charges,  until  the  parties  meet  at  the  time  and 
place  of  trial; — thus  rendering  it  impossible  for  the  accused 
to  prepare  for  his  defence.  The  accused  member  has  no  le- 
gal right  to  demand  a  postponement.  And  however  hard 
the  decision,  he  must  submit,  saving  only,  that  he  has  an 
appeal  to  the  Quarterly  Meeting  Conference,  a  tribunal  so 
constituted,  that  a  majority  of  its  members  are  class  leaders, 
men  exclusively  appointed  to  office  by  the  travelling  preach- 
ers. If  the  preacher's  committee  should  acquit  the  accused, 
and  the  acquittal  should  not  meet  the  approbation  of  the 
preacher,  he  may  carry  up  the  case  to  the  Quarterly  Meet- 
ing Conference,  and  try  the  accused  member  over  again,  be- 
fore that  body." — (This  extract  is  contained  in  an  arti- 
ticle  signed  by  the  Rev.  Messrs.  "  Samuel  K.  Jennings,  Al- 
exander McCaine,  Daniel  E.  Reese,  James  R.  Williams," 
and  eight  others.)—  Ib.,  vol.  III.,  pp.  135—137. 

Again,  "  that  the  travelling  preachers  are  in  possession  of 
all  power  and  authority  in  the  church,  it  is  presumed,  no  per- 
son who  is  at  all  acquainted  with  our  economy,  will  pre- 
tend, for  a  moment,  to  deny.  If,  however,  this  should  be 
called  in  question  by  any  man,  I  would  ask  him,  if  any 
one,  except  travelling  preachers,  can  vote  at  the  election  of 
members  for  the  General  Conference,  where  all  the  laws  of  the 
church  are  made  ?  I  would  ask  further,  if  any,  except  trav- 
elling preachers,  are  at  all  eligible  to  the  conference  ?  ****  1 
ask  again,  whether  the  whole  membership  can  appoint  or  dis- 
place a  single  class  leader?  and  whether  the  travelling  preach- 
er has  not  the  power  to  do  both  at  his  own  good  pleasure, 
asking  no  questions;  just  as  the  lord  of  a  manor  would  ap- 
point his  steward,  or  as  the  owner  of  a  plantation  would  ele- 
vate or  depose  one  of  his  servants.  And  when  the  itinerant 
preacher  has  at  any  time  exercised  his  prerogative,  and  a 
10 


74 


GOVERNMENT  AND  DISCIPLINE. 


class  leader  has  been  put  up,  or  put  down,  have  the  class 
any  right  to  say  a  word  in  the  way  of  disapprobation  ? 
And  I  would  ask  yet  again,  if  a  steward,  or  trustee  be  want- 
ed, whether  the  travelling  preacher  does  not  name  his  man? 
and  whether  the  members  can  appoint  any  other  person  ex- 
cept the  one  so  nominated  by  the  preacher  ?  In  like  man- 
ner, if  any  member  be  charged  with  immoral  conduct,  wheth- 
er the  travelling  preacher  has  not  the  power  to  appoint  the 
committee  for  the  trial  of  the  case  ?  and  this  too,  without 
check  or  restriction,  although  it  gives  an  opportunity,  if  at 
any  time  such  opportunity  might  be  sought,  to  pack  a  jury  ! 
Does  he  not  himself  sit  as  judge  of  the  court  on  the  trial  ? 
Has  he  not  the  power  of  summoning  persons  to  trial,  forth- 
with, without  furnishing  any  specification  of  the  charges 
preferred  against  them  ?  And  has  any  person,  when  about 
to  be  tried,  a  right  to  object  to  those  who  may  be  appointed 
to  sit  on  his  case,  however  certain  he  may  be  of  their  preju- 
dice against  him  !  ##**  If  in  any  particular  instance,  a  socie- 
ty should  be  dissatisfied  with  the  decision  of  a  committee, 
have  they  the  right  of  an  appeal  ?  Does  not  the  travelling 
preacher  alone  possess  this  right  ?  And  if  he  should  think 
fit  to  disapprove  of  an  appeal,  is  not  the  society  without  re- 
dress ?  Can  any  person,  except  a  travelling  preacher,  have 
any  thing  to  do  with  the  book  concern  ?  Does  not  the  discip- 
line recommend,  that  all  church  property  be  deeded  to  the 
use  of  the  travelling  preachers,  which,  of  course,  in  all  pos- 
sible cases,  is  lodged  in  the  hands  of  men  of  their  own 
choosing  ? 

"  Does  not  the  conference  dispose  of  all  monies  without 
rendering  any  account  to  the  members  ?  In  a  word,  are  not 
all  the  temporal  concerns  of  the  church,  directly  or  indirect- 
ly, at  the  disposal  of  the  travelling  preachers  ?  The  travel- 
ling preachers,  then,  must  be  the  fountain  from  whom  all 


GOVERNMENT  AND  DISCIPLINE. 


75 


power  flows.  Without  them,  there  can  be  no  class  leaders, 
no  steward,  no  trustee,  no  meeting-house,  no  appropriation 
of  money,  no  trial  of  members,  nor  can  any  member  be  re- 
ceived into  the  church,  or  taken  upon  trial.  Without  them 
the  church  can  have  no  laws;  for  they  elect  each  other  to  the 
legislative  councils  of  the  church.  Without  them  the  gov- 
ernment cannot  be  administered;  for  they  have  the  executive 
power  exclusively  in  their  own  hands.  In  fact,  they  have 
charge  of,  and  do  govern  and  rule  the  temporal  and  spiritual 
concerns  of  the  church.  And  all  this  heaven  and  earth, 
moves  at  their  nod.  The  whole  membership,  with  the  lo- 
cal preachers,  exhorters,  stewards  and  trustees,  to  help  them, 
cannot  make  one  class  leader,  nor  do  any  thing  else  without 
a  travelling  preacher.  He  must  point  his  finger  or  give  his 
nod,  or  the  wheels  of  our  Zion  must  stand  still. 

"  Are  the  local  preachers  and  lay  members  of  the  church, 
so  incompetent  to  self-government,  and  so  entirely  unwor- 
thy of  trust  and  confidence,  that  they  ought  to  be  thus  care- 
fully and  entirely  proscribed  ?  Why  else  are  they  placed  at 
such  a  distance  ?  Why  this  studied  solicitude  to  keep  them 
under  foot?  Why  all  this  sensibility,  when  their  degraded 
situation  is  complained  of?  Why  all  this  jealousy  and  this 
fear,  lest  they  should  have  a  check  upon  the  power  exercised 
over  them  ? 

"  Are  travelling  preachers  the  only  wise  men  living,  and 
will  wisdom  die  with  them  ?  Is  all  the  virtue  in  the  church 
treasured  up  in  themselves  ?  Do  they  alone  care  for  the 
things  of  Jesus  Christ  ?  And  have  they  alone  the  necessa- 
ry wisdom  to  seek  after  them  and  secure  them  ?  This  ap- 
pears to  be  the  language  of  our  government.  The  language 
of  the  men,  who  hold  the  reins  in  their  hands.  Where  is 
humility  in  all  this?  It  is  certainly  too  much  for  humble 
men  to  say  all  this  of  themselves.    It  would  be  enough  to 


76 


GOVERNMENT  AND  DISCIPLINE. 


hear  it  from  the  lips  of  others.  Is  there  no  danger  to  be  ap- 
prehended from  such  great  and  irresponsible  power  ?  Is  it 
not  known,  that  a  sudden  induction  into  it,  generates  pride 
and  ambition  ?  And  does  it  not  tend  to  produce  a  spirit  of 
resistance  or  debasement  in  those  over  whom  it  is  exercis- 
ed?"—^., vol.  L,  pp.  469—471. 

Once  more, — "  These  august  law-makers"  [travelling 
preachers]  "  are  free  from  all  restraint. — First,  they  are  free 
from  the  restraints  of  representation:  no  delegate  of  the  peo- 
ple can  open  his  mouth  in  their  legislative  assemblies.  Se- 
condly, they  are  free  from  constitutional  restraint:  for  though 
they  have  a  little  instrument  of  their  own  making,  which  they 
call  a  constitution,  yet  it  is  evident  to  common  sense,  that 
it  is  no  constitution  of  the  people,  and  the  makers  of  it  can 
alter  it  when  they  please,  without  the  people  having  a  sin- 
gle voice  in  the  matter.  Thirdly,  they  are  free  from  any  re- 
straint of  scripture:  for  in  their  law-book,  we  read,  that 
when  members  have  broken  their  rules  of  discipline,  '  if  they 
do  not  amend,  let  him  who  has  the  charge  of  the  eircuit  ex- 
clude them,'  [the  church]  '  showing  that  they  are  laid  aside 
for  a  breach  of  our  rules  of  discipline,  and  not  for  immoral  con- 
duct.' Thus  it  stands  glaring  in  the  open  face  of  heaven,  that 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  claims  authority  to  expel 
members  from  the  church  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  are 
guilty  of  no  breach  of  his  laws,  (not  for  immoral  conduct) 
but  merely  because  they  have  violated  such  '  rules  of  our  dis- 
cipline' as,  according  to  her  own  confession,  involve  no  im- 
morality !  It  is  evident,  if  the  church  has  authority  to  make 
one  such  law,  she  has  authority  to  make  a  thousand:  of 
course,  she  can  make  laws,  and  expel  members,  indepen- 
dently of  Divine  revelation." — lb.,  vol.  III.,  pp.  253  and  254. 

The  following  extracts  are  taken  from  the  letters  of  the 
Rev.  S.  S.  Schmucker,  D.  D.,  Professor  of  Theology  in  the 


GOVERNMENT  AND  DISCIPLINE. 


77 


German  Lutheran  Seminary  at  Gettysburg,  published  some 
years  since  in  "  the  Gettysburg  Star  and  Republican  Ban- 
ner," in  a  controversy  with  a  Methodist  itinerant  preacher, 
of  the  name  of  Young,  who  had  taken  exception  to  certain 
remarks  made  by  the  professor  in  his  work,  entitled,  "  Popu- 
lar Theology." — The  Dr.  in  one  of  his  letters  thus  writes: — 
"  But  it  is  not  to  the  episcopacy  as  such,  but  to  the  fact, 
that  the  itinerant  preachers,  with  these  bishops,  assumed  in 
this  republican  country,  all  the  legislative  and  executive  pow- 
ers of  the  church,  that  we  apply  the  terms  rank  aristocracy. 
That  the  Rev.  Mr.  Young,  if  better  informed  on  the  history 
of  his  own  church,  would  not  have  been  so  sensitive  at  my 
remarks,  and  that  I  have  asserted  nothing  new,  will  clearly 
appear. 

"  I.  Mr.  Wesley  himself  avowed  that  his  system  was  not 
<  republican,'  that  it  was  aristocratic.  In  a  letter  to  Mr.  John 
Mason,  dated  near  London,  Jan.  13th,  1790,  he  says, — 
1  My  dear  brother — As  long  as  I  live,  the  people  shall  have 
no  share  in  choosing  either  stewards  or  leaders  among  the 
Methodists.  We  have  not,  and  never  had  such  a  custom. 
We  are  no  republicans,  and  never  intend  to  be.'' — (London 
Wesleyan  Mag.,  April,  1830.)  This  language  from  a  loyal 
subject  of  Great  Britain,  is  not  remarkable;  but  that  the  tra- 
velling preachers,  after  our  glorious  revolution,  should  still 
deny  to  the  people  all  participation  in  the  legislative  judicat- 
ories of  the  church,  we  view  in  a  different  light. 

"  II.  The  powers  of  the  travelling  preachers  have  been 
pronounced  aristocratic,  and  regarded  as  such,  by  some  of 
the  most  distinguished,  adhering  and  seceding  ministers  of 
the  Methodist  Church  !  It  is  well  known  that  a  very  large 
portion  of  the  Methodist  Church  in  this  country,  laboured 
for  a  season  to  reform  the  aristocratic  features  of  their  gov- 
ernment, and  were  expelled  from  the  church  for  the  atttempt. 


78 


GOVERNMENT  AND  DISCIPLINE. 


Is  it  not  true,  then,  that  it  is  '  dangerous'  for  a  Methodist 
minister  to  speak  against  their  discipline  ?  And  is  it  not 
laughable,  to  hear  the  Rev.  Mr.  Young  assert,  that  the  fail- 
ure of  the  laity  as  a  body  to  ask  their  right  of  representation 
in  the  conference,  is  the  reason  why  it  has  not  been  granted; 
when  it  is  a  notorious  fact,  that  those  who  ventured  to  ask, 
were  expelled  ?  But  some  of  the  most  distinguished,  adher- 
ing Methodists  in  the  land,  have  pronounced  the  same  judg- 
ment. Dr.  Coke,  the  same  as  bishop  Coke,  in  a  printed 
circular,  dated  Wilmington,  Del.,  May  4th,  1791,  termed  it 
an  c  arbitrary  aristocracy.' — (Methodist  Prot.,  p.  244.) 
'  Bishop  McKendree  and  Mr.  O'Kelley  actually  withdrew, 
because  of  the  unwarrantable  assumptions  of  the  conference.' 
—  (Ib.,  p.  244.) — And  Ezekiel  Cooper,  of  the  Philadelphia 
Conference,  declares  that  in  the  violent  debate  which  then 
occurred  on  this  subject,  Mr.  McKendree  observed,  '  it  is  an 
insult  to  my  understanding,  and  such  an  arbitrary  stretch  of 
power,  so  tyrannical  (or)  despotic,  that  I  cannot  (or)  will 
not  submit  to  it.' — (lb.,  p.  244)  We  suppose,  then,  that 
out  of  the  mouth  of  two  such  respectable  witnesses,  two  of 
the  first  Methodist  bishops  in  this  country,  the  matter  might 
be  considered  as  1  established:'  and  if  Mr.  Young  had  re- 
flected on  these  things,  he  had  better  said  nothing  about 
them.  But  as  an  American,  we  are  opposed  to  having  this 
point  decided  by  mere  authority,  even  of  such  witnesses,  and 
will  resort  to  facts. 

"III.  We  shall  now  demonstrate  by  an  actual  induction  of 
particulars,  that  the  declarations  of  these  men,  who  pro- 
nounced the  system  aristocratic,  as  the  '  Popular  Theology' 
also  does,  spoke  the  truth.  In  doing  this,  we  shall  purpose- 
ly avoid  enlarging  on  the  odiousness  of  that  system,  by 
which  the  travelling  preachers  usurp  exclusively  to  them- 
selves those  numerous  privileges,  which  in  other  churches 


GOVERNMENT  AND  DISCIPLINE. 


79 


are  shared  between  the  laity  and  clergy.  Nor  shall  we  stop 
to  prove,  either  from  reason  or  history,  what  the  ablest  wri- 
ters on  political  philosophy  all  admit,  the  ultimate  and  cer- 
tain connexion  between  civil  and  religious  liberty,  or  there- 
verse.  These  matters  I  leave  to  the  conscientious  reflec- 
tions of  my  Methodist  brethren  themselves,  who  I  am  per- 
suaded, are  in  politics  as  good  republicans  as  others,  al- 
though, in  religion,  they  are  submitting  to  a  clerical  aristo- 
cracy, inconsistent  in  my  judgment  with  those  unalienable 
rights,  which  God  and  his  word  adjudge  to  them.  By  aris- 
tocracy, says  Dr.  Beattie,  is  meant  a  government  which 
{  puts  the  balance  of  power  in  the  hands  of  a  few,  who  are 
equal  or  nearly  equal  among  themselves/  &c.  And,  in  the 
general  sense  of  the  term,  by  aristocracy,  is  meant  the  ex- 
clusive assumption  or  possession  of  those  rights  and  privi- 
leges by  a  few,  to  which  others  have  also  a  just  claim.  Of 
this  character  we  regard  the  following  privileges  of  the  Meth- 
odist travelling  preachers: — 

"1.  Their  exclusive  right  of  suffrage  in  the  election  of 
delegates  to  the  general  convention,  and  of  bishops.  In 
the  Lutheran,  German  Reformed,  Presbyterian,  Episcopa- 
lian and  all  other  Protestant  Churches,  the  laity  aid  in  elect- 
ing the  highest  efhcer,  be  he  a  bishop,  president,  or  modera- 
tor; as  also  in  choosing  the  delegates  to  their  highest  judi- 
catory, be  it  termed  a  General  Synod,  or  Assembly,  or 
Convention. 

"  2.  Their  exclusive  eligibility,  both  to  the  Annual  and 
General  Conferences.  In  the  Lutheran,  Presbyterian,  Re- 
formed, Episcopal  and  all  other  churches,  laymen  are  eligi- 
ble to  all  the  judicatories  of  the  church. 

"  3.  Their  exclusive  unlimited  power  to  legislate  for  the 
whole  church,  in  matters  of  doctrine,  discipline,  forms  of 
worship,  and  minor  regulations — '  full  powers  to  make  rules 


80 


GOVERNMENT  AND  DISCIPLINE. 


and  regulations  for  the  church.'  ****  In  the  Lutheran,  Epis- 
copalian, Presbyterian  and  all  other  churches  known  to  me, 
the  laity  form  part  of  the  judicatories,  which  alone  have 
the  right  to  legislate  on  these  subjects. 

"  4.  Their  exclusive  right  to  sit  in  judgment  on  the  moral 
conduct  of  travelling  preachers.  In  all  other  churches,  such 
trials  are  conducted  jointly  by  laymen  and  ministers. 

"  5.  Their  exclusive  right  of  appointing  all  committees 
for  the  trial  of  lay  members  accused  of  immorality,  without 
the  power  on  the  part  of  the  accused,  to  challenge  any 
member  of  such  committee,  though  he  could  prove  him  his 
bitterest  enemy.  This  is  not  so  in  any  other  church  in  our 
land. 

"  6.  Their  exclusive  right  to  control  and  conduct  the  en- 
tire book  concern,  and  appropriate  its  extensive  profits  ex- 
clusively to  their  own  benefit.  In  all  other  churches  known 
to  us,  such  matters  are  under  the  joint  management  of  lay- 
men and  clergy. 

"  7.  Their  exclusive  right  of  eligibility  to  editorship  of 
the  periodicals  of  the  Methodist  Church;  local  preachers  and 
laymen  being  excluded  by  the  discipline.  In  no  other  church 
is  such  an  exclusive  privilege  enjoyed. 

"  8.  Their  exclusive  right  to  hold  and  control  all  the 
Methodist  Churches  and  parsonages  deeded  according  to  the 
discipline,  to  say  who  shall,  and  who  shall  not  occupy  them, 
without  consulting  the  wishes  of  the  laity,  who  paid  for 
them.  Even  the  trustees  are  nominated  exclusively  by  the 
travelling  preachers  !  In  every  other  Protestant  Church  in 
the  land,  each  congregation  owns  and  has  control  of  its  own 
parsonage  and  church. 

"  9.  Their  exclusive  right  to  fix  the  amount  of  their  own 
salary,  that  is,  the  amount  to  which  they  may  retain  their 
collections,  and  receive  their  dividend  from  the  several  funds. 


GOVERNMENT  AND  DISCIPLINE. 


81 


In  every  other  church,  salary  is  jointly  fixed  by  the  laymen 
and  minister. 

"  10.  The  exclusive  right  of  their  bishops  to  determine 
what  ministers  each  congregation  shall  have,  without  con- 
sulting the  judgment  of  the  people.  In  all  other  churches 
of  our  land,  the  congregation  invites  whom  they  think  best 
suited  to  them. 

"11.  Their  entire  irresponsibility  to  the  people  for  all  their 
acts,  legislative,  judicial  and  executive — and  for  their  dis- 
tribution of  the  extensive  funds  possessed  by  them.  **** 

"  Here  then,  if  the  Rev.  Mr.  Young  will  have  the  proofs 
of  aristocracy,  let  him  take  them." 

The  following  extracts  are  from  the  pen  of  the  Rev.  H. 
B.  Bascom,  a  distinguished  preacher,  still  in  connexion  with 
the  itinerant  ministry  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
They  were  written  while  he  and  others  were  endeavouringto 
effect  a  reform  in  their  church,  and  were  designed  to  show 
its  necessity.  Why  he  should  have  continued  to  adhere  to 
such  a  government,  after  his  reforming  brethren  were  ex- 
pelled, and  had  organized  themselves  into  a  church  accord- 
ing to  the  principles  which  he  as  well  as  they  so  earnestly  in- 
sisted upon,  it  is  not  for  us  to  say.  But  the  truth  remains 
the  same,  and  cannot  be  affected  by  the  inconsistency  of  its 
advocates. — The  extracts  are  copied  from  a  paper,  entitled, 
"  Declaration  of  Rights:" — 

"  As  all  men  are  essentially  equal,  in  their  rights,  wants, 
and  interests,  it  follows  from  these,  that  representative  gov- 
ernment, is  the  only  legitimate  human  rule,  to  which  any 
people  can  submit.  It  is  the  only  kind  of  government  that 
can  possibly  reconcile,  in  any  consistent  way,  the  claims  of 
authority,  with  the  advantages  of  liberty.  A  prescriptive 
legislative  body,  making  laws  without  the  knowledge  or 
consent  of  the  people  to  be  governed  by  them,  is  a  despot- 
11 


82 


GOVERNMENT   AND  DISCIPLINE, 


ism.  Legislators  without  constituents,  or  peers  and  fellows, 
deputing  them,  as  their  representatives  and  actors — thus  con- 
stituting themselves  a  legislature  beyond  the  control  of  the 
people,  is  an  exhibition  of  tyranny  in  one  of  its  most  dan- 
gerous forms.  In  the  momentous  affairs  of  government, 
nothing  should  be  made  the  exclusive  property  of  a  few, 
which  by  right,  belongs  to  all,  and  may  be  safely  and  ad- 
vantageously used  by  the  rightful  proprietors.  The  justice 
of  every  government,  depends  essentially  upon  the  original 
consent  of  the  people; — -this  privilege  belongs  to  every  com- 
munity, in  right  of  the  law  of  nature;  and  no  man,  or  mul- 
titude of  men,  can  alter,  limit,  or  diminish  it.  Constitu- 
tional law  is  an  expression  of  the  will  of  the  people,  and 
their  concurrence  in  its  formation,  either  personally,  or  by 
representation,  is  essential  to  its  ligitimate  authority." — 
Art.  4. 

"  No  community  can  be  said,  without  mockery,  to  have 
a  constitution,  where  there  is  a  consolidation  of  the  different 
powers  of  government  in  the  hands  of  the  same  men,  and 
the  remaining  portion  are  left,  of  course,  without  any  se- 
curity for  their  rights." — lb.,  art.  5. 

"  A  government  uniting  the  legislative,  judicial,  and  ex- 
ecutive powers  in  the  hands  of  the  same  men,  is  an  absurdi- 
ty in  theory,  and  in  practice,  tyranny.  The  executive 
power,  in  every  government,  should  be  subordinate  to  the  leg- 
islative, and  the  judicial,  independent  of  both. — Whenever, 
therefore,  it  happens,  that  these  three  departments  of  gov- 
ernment are  in  the  hands  of  the  same  body  of  men,  and  these 
men  not  the  representatives  of  the  people,  first  making  the 
laws,  then  executing  them,  and  finally  the  sole  judges  of 
their  own  acts,  there  is  no  liberty,  the  people  are  virtu- 
ally enslaved,  and  liable  to  be  ruined  at  any  time." — lb.y 
art.  6. 


GOVERNMENT  AND  DISCIPLINE. 


83 


"Expedience  and  right  arc  different  things.  Nothing 
is  expedient  that  is  unjust. — Necessity  and  convenience,  may 
render  a  form  of  government  useful  and  effective  for  a  time, 
which  afterward,  under  a  change  of  circumstances,  and  an 
accumulation  of  responsibility,  may  become  oppressive  and 
intolerable.  That  system  of  things,  which  cannot  be  justi- 
fied by  the  word  of  God,  and  the  common  sense  of  man- 
kind, can  never  be  expedient.  Submission  to  power,  gra- 
dually and  insidiously  usurped,  should  seldom  or  never  be 
received  as  proof  of  the  legitimate  consent  of  the  people,  to 
the  peculiar  form  of  government,  by  which  they  are  oppressed; 
as  such  submission  may  be  the  result  of  principles,  attach- 
ments, and  energies,  which  owe  their  existence  to  causes  for- 
eign from  the  government,  which  is  supposed  to  produce  them. 
Peaceable  submission  by  the  people,  to  a  system  of  govern- 
ment, can  never  be  construed  into  a  proper  approval  of  it,  as 
one  of  their  own  choice;  for,  as  men  by  birth  and  education, 
may  become  the  subjects  of  a  form  of  civil  government,  they 
do  not  approve,  so  thousands  may  be  born  into  the  kingdom 
of  God,  and  nurtured  in  his  family,  under  forms  of  ecclesias- 
tical polity,  materially  inconsistent  with  the  lights  and  notices 
of  revelation  on  this  subject.  The  continued  sufferance  and 
submission  of  the  people,  so  far  from  proving  the  divine  right 
of  those  who  govern,  does  not  even  furnish  proof  of  any  right 
at  all,  except  the  claim  which  arises  from  mere  forbear- 
ance."— lb.,  art.  11. 

As  an  additional  evidence  of  the  anti-republican  and  ty- 
rannical nature  of  the  government  and  discipline  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  I  may  slate,  that  the  most  ear- 
nest remonstrances  and  petitions  have,  from  time  to  time 
been  presented  to  the  General  Conference  on  this  subject — 
public  meetings  of  their  people  have  been  held,  in  various 
places,  at  which  the  strongest  resolutions  have  been  passed 
against  the  government — and  numerous  secessions  have  ta- 


84 


GOVERNMENT  AND  DISCIPLINE. 


ken  place,  in  consequence  of  the  refusal  of  their  rulers  to 
grant  the  desired  reform. 

We  have  seen  with  what  indignation  Dr.  Coke  and  Mr. 
McKendree  denounced  the  government: — the  former,  as  an 
"  arbitrary  aristocracy" — and  the  latter,  as  "  such  an  arbitra- 
ry stretch  of  power,  so  tyrannical  (or)  despotic,  that  he  could 
not  (or)  would  not  submit  to  it,"  and  that  he  actually  with- 
drew, "  because  of  the  unwarrantable  assumptions  of  the 
conference!" 

So  also  we  find,  that  as  early  as  1794,  the  people  were 
very  much  dissatisfied — and  earnestly  insisted  upon  their 
right  of  representation. — "  This,"  says  Mr.  Lee,  "  was  a 
year  of  great  trouble  and  distress  among  the  Methodists  in 
the  southern  states,  partly  owing  to  the  divisions  that  had 
taken  place,  as  mentioned  in  the  foregoing  chapter,  and  part- 
ly to  an  uneasy  and  restless  spirit  that  prevailed  in  many  pla- 
ces, both  among  our  local  preachers  and  private  members. 
Some  of  them  contended  that  the  local  preachers  ought  to 
have  a  seat  and  a  vote  in  all  our  conferences;  and  others  said, 
there  ought  to  be  a  delegation  of  lay  members." — Lee's 
Short  History,  page  213. 

"  The  history  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  presents 
a  melancholy  picture  of  strife  and  division;  one  upon  which 
we  could  dilate;  but  we  forbear.  The  truth  is,  from  its  or- 
ganization down  to  the  present  time,  it  has  been  one  con- 
tinued scene  of  secret  heart  burning,  or  open  contention. 
It  never  had  perfect  peace,  it  never  will  have  perfect  peace 
under  the  present  form  of  government.  Let  us  not  be  cen- 
sured, then,  for  exhibiting  what  we  believe  to  be  a  plain  and 
honest  statement  of  facts;  but  let  our  censure  be  turned 
against  the  cause,  and  let  us  all  unite  to  put  it  away  from  us 
forever." — McCaine's  Hist.,  page  69. 

Not  many  years  since,  an  extensive  and  systematic  effort 
was  made  to  effect  a  reform  in  the  government  of  the  Meth- 


GOVERNMENT  AND  DISCIPLINE. 


85 


odist  Episcopal  Church.  Some  of  the  most  venerable  and 
distinguished  clergy  connected  with  the  itinerant  and  local 
ministry,  together  with  many  of  the  most  intelligent  and 
respectable  lay  members,  united  in  this  highly  necessary  and 
laudable  effort.  They  published  the  monthly  periodical  called 
the  "  Mutual  Rights,"  and  formed  "  Union  Societies"  in  va- 
rious places,  for  the  purpose  of  forwarding  their  views. 
They  discussed  the  subject  with  remarkable  ability;  and 
proved,  beyond  all  doubt,  the  urgent  necessity  of  reform: 
but,  in  the  midst  of  their  useful  and  increasingly  successful 
labours,  many  of  them  were  arraigned  on  the  charge  of  "  in- 
veighing against  the  discipline  !"  and  were  expelled  from 
the  church  !  ! — (Those  who  desire  to  see  an  interesting  ac- 
count of  their  arbitrary  trial  and  unrighteous  expulsion,  are 
referred  to  the  venerable  Dr.  Jennings's  "  Exposition,"  and 
for  such  an  apology  as  the  case  admitted  of,  to  a  pamphlet, 
entitled  "Narrative  and  Defence.")  The  reformers  subse- 
quently organized  themselves  into  the  church,  designated 
"  The  Methodist  Protestant  Church"  to  which  a  considera- 
ble number  of  seceders  from  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
both  clerical  and  lay,  in  various  parts  of  the  country,  united 
themselves.  And  from  the  time  of  their  organization  until 
now,  they  have  been  steadily  increasing,  both  in  numbers 
and  influence; — and  we  cordially  bid  them  God  speed,  in 
their  efforts  to  extend  the  principles  of  equitable  government 
and  Christian  liberty. 

As  a  specimen  of  the  resolutions  passed  by  the  Methodist 
people  in  their  primary  assemblies,  occasioned  by  the  arbi- 
trary and  tyrannical  proceedings  of  their  clerical  rulers  to- 
wards the  reformers,  I  will  transcribe  the  following: — 

"  Resolutions  of  the  male  members,  at  Kensington,  Phila- 
delphia. 

"  At  a  general  meeting  of  the  male  members  of  the  Ken- 
sington Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  convened  agreeably  to 


§6 


GOVERNMENT  AND  DISCIPLINE. 


previous  notice,  in  said  church,  on  the  evening  of  the  17th 
inst.  Mr.  John  Vaughan,  being  called  to  the  chair,  and  Mr. 
George  J.  Hamilton,  appointed  secretary.  The  design  and 
object  of  the  meeting  being  briefly  stated,  after  which  a  com- 
mittee was  appointed  to  draft  resolutions  expressing  the  sense 
of  the  society  ;  the  following  preamble  and  resolutions  were 
separately  read,  discussed,  and  unanimously  adopted. 

"  Preamble. 

"  Whereas,  the  members  of  this  church  have  understood, 
with  sincere  regret,  that  a  war  of  extermination  has  been  in 
a  state  of  progression,  by  the  church  rulers  in  the  city  of 
Baltimore,  against  the  friends  of  equal  representation  in  that 
city,  and  being  apprehensive,  that  consequences  the  most  se- 
rious, are  likely  to  result  from  the  exercise  of  such  arbitrary 
power  to  suppress  freedom  of  inquiry. 

"Therefore,  resolved  1st.  That  it  is  the  unquestionable 
right  and  privilege  of  every  individual,  to  examine  into  the 
character  of  our  church  polity;  freely  and  fully  to  expose  its 
defects;  and  respectfully  to  suggest  any  alterations  and  modi- 
fications, which  reason,  experience,  observation  and  revela- 
tion may  dictate. 

"  Resolved  2d.  That  the  arbitrary  and  uncontrolled  pow- 
ers vested  in  the  ministry,  have  been,  and  will  continue  to 
be,  the  ostensible  cause  of  much  uneasiness  and  affliction  to 
the  laity,  and,  if  it  be  correct  to  form  an  opinion  from  the 
past  and  present  movements  of  some  of  our  rulers,  is  likely 
to  convulse  to  its  centre  our  Zion. 

"  Resolved  3dly.  That  our  brethren  in  Baltimore,  who 
have  been  pointing  out  the  defects  of  our  present  adminis- 
tration, and  pleading  the  necessity  of  an  alteration  in  it,  so 
as  to  recognize  the  grand  representative  principle,  have  been 
engaged  in  a  good  work,  following  the  dictates  of  enlight- 


GOVERNMENT   AND  DISCIPLINE. 


87 


ened  reason,  supported  by  revelation,  and  deserve  the  thanks, 
support,  and  well  wishes  of  all  good  men. 

"  Resolved  Athly.  That  the  arbitrary  power,  exercis- 
ed by  the  Rev.  J.  M.  Hanson,  in  the  city  of  Baltimore, 
in  suspending  the  local  preachers,  and  expelling  the  private 
members  from  the  church,  for  opposing  the  present  organi- 
zation of  power  and  legislation  in  our  church,  is  calculated 
to  widen  the  breach  already  too  wide;  and  if  persisted  in, 
will  inevitably  produce  consequences  the  most  alarming  and 
distressing  to  every  real  lover  of  the  church. 

'■'■Resolved  bthly.  That  in  the  opinion  of  this  society,  the 
principle  of  an  equal  representation  of  the  whole  church  in 
her  legislative  department,  is  sacred  and  important  to  the 
liberty  and  happiness  of  myriads  yet  unborn,  and  that  to 
suspend  ministers  or  expel  members  from  the  church,  for  ad- 
vocating the  mutual  rights,  both  of  the  ministry  and  mem- 
bership, is  a  shameful  departure  from  the  political  maxims 
contained  in  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  a  setting  at 
defiance  the  unalienable  rights  of  Christ's  freemen,  and  a 
positive  proof,  that  our  government  is  not  altogether  consti- 
tuted in  accordance  with  liberal  and  republican  principles. 

"  Resolved  6th  and  lastly.  That  the  secretary  of  this  meet- 
ing be  requested  to  furnish  duplicate  copies  of  the  foregoing 
pre-amble  and  resolutions,  one  of  which  shall  be  sent  to  the 
editorial  committee  for  insertion  in  the  Mutual  Rights,  and 
the  other  to  the  Rev.  J.  M.  Hanson. 

"John  Vaughan,  chairman.  Attest,  G.  J.  Hamilton,  se- 
cretary."— Mutual  Rights,  vol.  IV.,  pp.  213  and  214. 

Further,  in  the  deliberate  judgment  of  some  of  the  most 
intelligent  Methodists,  who  were  for  many  years  connected 
with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  who  may  be  sup- 
posed, therefore,  to  be  best  acquainted  with  this  subject — 
the  tendency  of  the  government  of  that  church  is  highly  dan- 
gerous to  the  civil  liberties  of  the  United  States.    The  testi- 


88 


GOVERNMENT  AND  DISCIPLINE. 


mony  which  they  have  publicly  borne  on  this  subject  is  very 
decided;  and  their  earnest  warning  should  be  seriously  pon- 
dered by  the  whole  country. 

"  The  right  to  be  represented" — says  the  Rev.  Mr.  Bas- 
cora — "  where  law  is  made  to  govern,  is  not  only  essential 
to  civil  freedom,  but  is  equally  the  basis  of  religious  liber- 
ty. Civil  and  religious  liberty  are  intimately  connected, 
they  usually  live  and  die  together,  and  he  who  is  the  friend 
of  the  one,  cannot  consistently  be  the  enemy  of  the  other." 
— Dec.  of  Rights,  art.  9. 

"  Many  perceive" — says  Dr.  Jennings — "  distinctly,  the 
tendencies  of  the  present  system,  to  prepare  the  people,  some 
day,  to  approve  aristocratical  and  monarchical  principles  in 
civil  government." — Mutual  Rights,  vol.  I., p.  174. 

"  For  in  the  same  proportion" — says  "  a  layman" — "  as 
we  become  attached  to  one  system  of  government,  we  im- 
perceptibly lose  our  affection  for  that  which  is  opposed  to  it, 
in  principle,  even  should  one  be  ecclesiastical,  and  the  other 
political  or  civil;  and  it  has  generally  been  the  case,  that 
men's  views  of  civil  poilicy,have  yielded  very  much  to  their 
religious  opinions.  Such,  at  least,  was  the  casein  Europe, 
generally,  before  the  reformation.  It  was  not,  however,  un- 
til the  pope  and  clergy,  had  usurped  all  authority  in  the 
church,  and  wrested  from  the  people  their  primitive  rights, 
that  they  attempted  to  exercise  any  controlling  influence  in 
the  state,  but  after  this  was  effected,  the  other  was  easily  ac- 
complished. This  was  also  the  case  in  England,  after  the 
reformation.  It  will  be  recollected,  that  the  bishops  and 
clergy  of  the  episcopal  hierarchy  in  England,  during  the 
reigns  of  the  Stuarts,  very  generally,  if  not  universally, 
supported  these  tyrants  in  their  iniquitous  proceedings.  It 
was  a  favourite  doctrine  of  James  the  First — no  bishop,  no 
king.  And  it  was  to  the  liberal  policy  and  republican  prin- 
ciples of  the  Presbyterians  and  Baptists,  that  England  was 


iSOVEBNMENT  AND  DISCIPLINE. 


83 


lid  of  those  tyrants.  This  difference  of  sentiment,  so  unani- 
mous  in  the  different  sects,  can  only  be  attributable  to  those 
principles  which  they  had  respectively  imbibed  in  their 
churches.  We  find  those  that  favoured  clerical  dominion, 
ready  to  support  kingly  despotism;  and  those  that  were  edu- 
cated in  liberal  church  principles,  carried  them  with  their  po- 
litics of  state,  and  resisted  kingly  despotism  with  as  much 
zeal  as  they  did  the  ghostly  dominion  of  the  church.  It  is 
to  those  liberal  spirits,  who,  to  escape  from  the  tyranny  of 
the  church  and  state  in  England,  in  the  commencement  of 
the  seventeenth  century  emigrated  to  America,  bringing  their 
republican  principles  with  them,  and  transmitting  them  to 
their  children,  that  we  are  indebted  for  our  present  blessings 
and  privileges." — Mutual  Rights,  vol.  I.,  pp.  444  and  445> 
"  The  unyielding  struggles  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church" — says  the  Rev.  Mr.  Shinn — "  against  this  rights 
ous  and  valuable  enterprize,"  [ecclesiastical  reform,]  "and 
the  determined  spirit  of  preachers  and  people,  to  resist  all 
our  efforts,  are  so  far  from  furnishing  an  argument  against 
the  correctness  of  our  views,  that  a  very  strong  reason  hence 
arises,  to  stimulate  us  to  perseverance.  For  if  it  be  a  fact, 
that  in  the  heart  of  this  American  republic,  where  liberal 
principles  of  government  have  been  instilled  into  our  minda 
from  our  cradles,  a  most  formidable  stand  is  made  against 
the  same  principles,  when  urged  in  the  church,  it  convinc- 
ingly appears,  that  ecclesiastical  power  has  an  amazing  in- 
fluence over  the  minds  of  the  people;  and  of  consequence 
will  ultimately  endanger  the  liberties  of  this  nation,  unless 
arrested  in  its  sovereign  course,  by  efforts  proportioned  to 
the  magnitude  of  the  object.  That  such  a  stand  should  be 
made  against  our  principles  of  reform,  in  this  country,  is 
surely  one  of  the  wonders  of  the  world;  and  must  convince 
all  reflecting  minds,  that  few  things  in  nature  are  more  in 
12 


00 


GOVERNMENT  AND  DISCIPLINE, 


fatuating,  or  calculated  to  get  a  firmer  hold  of  the  human  souf? 
than  ecclesiastical  power.  That  the  principles  of  absolute- 
monarchy  should  have  started  up  in  the  Methodist  Church,  in 
this  free  country,  commencing  at  the  period  of  our  revolu- 
tion; that  they  should  have  grown  with  our  growth,  and 
strengthened  with  our  strength;  that  they  should  have  spread 
their  influence  from  the  centre  to  the  circumference  of  our 
nation,  at  a  time  when  sound  republican  principles  appeared 
to  be  universally  regarded  as  our  national  happiness  and 
glory,  is  truly  a  wonder  which  deserves  the  attention  of  our 
enlightened  and  patriotic  statesmen.  ****  Now,  what  is  the 
obvious,  indubitable  inference,  from  these  facts?  It  is,  that 
ecclesiastical  power  is  more  to  be  dreaded  by  mankind,  than 
any  other  species  of  power,  exercised  under  the  sun.  For  if  it 
can  get  such  a  hold  of  the  public  mindr  in  a  country  like  ours, 
■what  can  it  not  do,  when  surrounding  circumstances  are  all 
favourable  to  its  progress  ?  Bleeding  Europe  has  long  ago 
answered  this  very  serious  question.  Let  America  learn  how 
to  answer  it,  while  that  answer  may  serve  to  save  the  dearest 
enjoyments  of  all  her  children,  and  not  wait  until  the  answer 
will  have  to  be  received  in  forlorn  and  dreadful  silence;  and 
when  all  argument  and  remonstrance  will  be  in  vain,  as  they 
were  in  '  the  holy  inquisition.'  " — Mutual  Rights,  vol.  III., 
pp.  139—140. 

"That  the  church  is  in  danger  of  being  corrupted" — says  "A 
Layman" — "  in  consequence  of  the  powers  held  by  the  travel- 
ling ministers  cannot  be  doubted;  for  the  desire  to  possess 
power  and  exercise  authority  is  strongly  marked  in  the  human 
character.  Where  power  is  to  be  obtained,  man  is  strongly 
tempted  to  resort;  and  where  can  it  be  found  in  a  more  com- 
plete and  extended  degree  than  in  the  person  of  an  itinerant 
minister  of  the  Methodist  Church,  who  possesses  the  functions 
of  a  legislator,  a  judge,  and  an  executive  officer,  over  those  to 
whom  he  is  not  at  all  responsible." — lb.,  vol.  II.,  p.  56. 


GOVERNMENT  AND  DISCIPLINE. 


91 


Yea,  it  has  been  publicly  asserted,  that  a  great  change  for 
the  worse,  has  in  fact,  already  taken  place  in  the  character 
of  the  Methodist  clergy  generally. — An  able  writer  over  the 
signature  of  "  Luther,"  says—"  We  speak  to  Methodists, 
and  fearlessly  inquire,  if  indeed  the  itinerants  are  holy, 
harmless,  and  changeless,  as  they  would  have  us  believe  them 
to  be  ?  Have  they  more  of  self-command  than  other  minis- 
ters? are  they  less  assuming,  or  do  we  hear  more  boasting 
from  any  other  profession  of  men,  concerning  their  achieve- 
ments ?  Are  they  more  patient  of  contradiction  ?  or  less  in- 
clined to  persecute  those  who  differ  from  them  in  opinion 
than  other  men  ?  Is  not  the  track  of  some  of  them  marked 
with  inquisitorial  violence  and  ruin,  even  in  this  enlighten- 
ed age  and  country  ?  If  the  civil  authority  could  be  called 
in  to  sustain  them  in  the  work  of  persecution,  have  we  not 
reason  to  fear,  after  the  recent  deeds  of  some  of  them,  that 
they  would  soon  make  the  prisons  of  the  country  groan  with 
their  dissenting  brethren  ?  We  cheerfully  admit  that  there 
are  many  excellent  men  among  them,  but  we  must  neverthe- 
less ask  if  the  last  thirty  years  can  exhibit  so  fearful  a  change 
in  any  other  body  of  ministers?  Should  this  deleterious 
change  progress  in  the  same  ratio  for  the  next  fifty  years, 
these  western  infallibles  will  have  accomplished  more  in  half 
a  centuiy  than  the  eastern  infallibles  of  Europe  did  in  five 
hundred  years." — Mutual  Rights,  vol.  IV.,  pp.  362  and  363. 

Thus  have  we  shown  from  their  own  Book — and  by  the 
testimony  of  several  of  the  most  intelligent  and  competent 
witnesses — that  the  government  and  discipline  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  are  "  anti-republican  and  tyranni- 
cal," and  that  the  tendency  of  that  ecclesiastical  system  is 
highly  dangerous  to  the  civil  liberty  of  these  United  States. 
Our  greatest  astonishment  is,  that  any  "  Methodist"  should 
have  had  the  temerity  to  challenge  the  production  of  the 
proof!    Whether  he,  or  his  brethren,  will  now  be  "satis- 


92 


GOVERNMENT   AND  DISCIPLINE. 


fied,"  or  not,  we  are  confident  that  an  intelligent  and  unpre- 
judiced community  will  regard  the  evidence  as  amply  "  sat- 
isfactory"— because  overwhelmingly  conclusive. — The  evi- 
dence deduced  from  the  Book  of  Discipline — confirmed  as  it 
is  by  the  testimony  of  Dr.  Schmucker,  and  that  of  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Bascora,  an  adhering  minister  of  the  church — to  say 
nothing  of  the  concurring  testimony  of  the  seceding  clerical 
and  lay  Reformers — is,  certainly  in  my  judgment,  and  I  verily 
believe  will  be  in  the  judgment  of  every  impartial  reader, — 
irresistibly  decisive. 

Before  I  leave  this  branch  of  the  subject,  allow  me  briefly 
to  call  the  attention  of  the  reader,  by  way  of  contrast,  to  the 
truly  republican  and  liberal  principles  of  the  government  and 
discipline  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

The  constitution  of  the  Presbyterian  Chureh — comprising 
her  doctrines,  form  of  government,  discipline,  and  directory 
for  public  worship — was  originally  adopted  by  the  joint  vote 
of  the  ministers,  and  the  ruling  elders,  as  the  representa- 
tives of  the  people:  and  no  additional  constitutional  rule  can 
be  introduced,  or  any  present  constitutional  rule  altered  or 
rescinded,  without  being  first  transmitted,  by  the  General  As- 
sembly, to  all  the  Presbyteries,  and  receiving  the  returns  of 
at  least  a  majority  of  them,  in  writing,  approving  thereof. — 
See  Form  of  Government,  chap.  XII.,  sec.  6. 

In  all  our  Presbyterian  judicatories, — -from  the  Church 
Session  to  the  General  Assembly,  the  people  are  fairly  repre- 
sented by  lay  members,  called  ruling  elders.  * 

The  Church  Session,  which  constitutes  with  us  a  parochial 

*  It  has  been  questioned  whether  ruling  elders  should  be  called  lay 
members,  as  their  office  is  spiritual:  But  I  use  the  phrase  here  merely  for 
the  purpose  of  distinguishing  them  from  ministers  or  preachers,  which 
they  are  not.  And  they  are  intended,  according  to  the  theory  of  Presbyte- 
rianism,  specially  to  represent  the  people: — "  Rcmno  elders  are  properly 
the  representatives  of  the  people,"  &c. — Form  of  Gov.,  chap.  V. 


GOVERNMENT   AND  DISCIPLINE. 


93 


presbytery,  is  composed  of  the  bishop  or  pastor  of  the  con- 
gregation, and  as  many  ruling  elders  as  the  congregation 
may  choose  to  elect.  This  body  is  charged  with  maintain- 
ing the  spiritual  government  of  the  congregation:  receives 
members  into  the  church,  admonishes,  rebukes,  suspends  or 
excludes  from  the  sacraments,  those  who  are  found,  after  a 
fair  trial,  according  to  the  constitutional  forms  prescribed  by 
the  Book  of  Discipline,  to  deserve  censure;  concerts  the  best 
measures  for  promoting  the  spiritual  interests  of  the  congre- 
gation; and  appoints  delegates  to  the  higher  judicatories  of 
the  church.  And  in  all  its  proceedings  and  acts,  the  majori- 
ty rules — the  pastor  having  not  even  a  vote,  unless  there  be 
a  tie. — lb.,  chap.  IX. 

"A  Presbytery,''''  which  is  the  next  court  above  the  church 
session,  "consists  of  all  the  ministers,  and  one  ruling  elder 
from  each  congregation,  within  a  certain  district." — lb., 
chap.  X. 

"A  Synod,"  which  is  the  next  court  above  the  presbytery, 
"  is  a  convention  of  the  bishops  and  elders  within  a  larger 
district,  including  at  least  three  presbyteries.  The  ratio  of  the 
representation  of  elders  in  the  synod  is  the  same  as  in  the  pres- 
bytery."— lb.,  chap.  XL,  sec.  1. 

"The  General  Assembly  is  the  highest  judicatory  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church.  It  shall  respresent,  in  one  body,  all 
the  particular  churches  of  this  denomination."  ****  It 
"  shall  consist  of  an  equal  delegation  of  bishops  and  elders 
from  each  presbytery." — lb.,  chap.  XII.,  sec.  1  and  2. 

If  any  church  member  is  accused  of  immorality,  he  is 
cited  to  appear  before  the  church  session:  the  charge  is  sent 
to  him,  in  writing,  with  the  specifications  of  time  and  place, 
together  with  the  names  of  the  witnesses;  and  at  least  ten 
days  must  elapse  from  the  time  of  the  citation  before  he  can 
be  brought  to  trial.  The  forms  of  justice  are  likewise  mi- 
nutely prescribed  for  the  proper  conduct  of  the  trial,  and  all 


9T4 


GOVERNMENT  AND  DISCIPLINE. 


the  rights  of  the  accused  carefully  guarded  and  secured.— 
See  the  Discipline,  chap.  IV.  and  VI. 

If  the  decision  be  not  satisfactory  to  the  accused,  he  has 
the  right,  to  appeal  to  the  Presbytery: — If  not  satisfied  with 
the  decision  of  the  presbytery,  he  may  appeal  to  the  Synod: 
— And  if  still  not  satisfied,  he  may  carry  his  appeal  up  to  the 
General  Assembly. — lb.,  chap.  VII.,  sec.  3.  Thus  the  hum- 
blest member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  may  have  his  case 
adjudicated  by  the  whole  denomination,  through  its  repre- 
sentatives : — for  "  the  radical  principles  of  Presbyterian 
Church  government  and  discipline  are, — that  the  seve- 
ral different  congregations  of  believers,  taken  collectively, 
constitute  one  church  of  Christ,  called  emphatically  the 
church; — that  a  larger  part  of  the  church,  or  a  representation 
of  it,  should  govern  a  smaller,  or  determine  matters  of  con- 
troversy which  arise  therein; — that,  in  like  manner,  a  repre- 
sentation of  the  whole  should  govern  and  determine  in  re- 
gard to  every  part,  and  to  all  the  parts  united;  that  is,  that  a 
majority  shall  govern:  and  consequently  that  appeals  maybe 
carried  from  lower  to  higher  judicatories,  till  they  be  finally 
decided  by  the  collected  wisdom  and  united  voice  of  the  luhole 
church.'''' -See  note  appended  to  chap.  XII.,  of  the  Form  of  Gov. 

As  all  our  Presbyterian  courts  are  composed  of  an  equal 
number  of  clerical  and  lay  members,  so  likewise  all  the  offi- 
cers of  the  church  are  chosen  by  the  people. 

Each  Presbyterian  congregation  elects  its  board  of  Trus- 
tees, who  hold  the  parochial  property,  in  trust,  for  the  use  of 
the  members  of  that  particular  church  or  congregation.  And 
these  trustees  are  subject  to  the  instructions  of  those  who 
appoint  them — are  elected  for  a  limited  period  only — and 
may  be  re-elected  or  not,  agreeably  to  the  wishes  of  a  majo- 
rity of  the  people. 

The  Deacons,  whose  office  it  is  to  "  take  care  of  the  poor," 
agreeably  to  the  original  design  of  that  office  ,  as  appears 


OOVEBNMENT  AND  DISCIPLINE. 


95 


from  Acts  6:  1 — 4, — the  deacons  are  elected  by  the  people 
and  have  the  entire  management  of  the  funds  collected  in 
the  congregation  for  the  poor. — See  Form  of  Gov.,  chap.  VI. 

"  Ruling  Elders  are  properly  the  representatives  of  the 
people,  chosen  by  them  for  the  purpose  of  exercising  govern- 
ment and  discipline,  in  conjunction  with  the  pastors  or  min- 
isters."— 75.,  chap.  V.  If  these  officers  should  become, 
from  any  cause,  unacceptable  to  a  majority  of  the  congrega- 
tion, they  may  be  required  to  cease  acting  as  such,  or  the 
congregation  may  elect  such  additional  deacons  or  elders  as 
shall  constitute  a  majority  of  them  agreeable  to  their  views. 
lb.,  chap.  XIII.,  sec.  6  anal  7. 

In  regard  to  Pastors:  each  congregation  elects  its  own  min- 
ister, and  fixes  his  salary;  so  that  the  people  have  always  the 
man  of  their  choice,  and  the  regulation  of  the  amount  of  his 
support. — lb.,  chap.  XV.  If  the  pastor  becomes,  from  any 
cause,  objectionable  or  undesirable,  the  people  have  the  right 
to  petition  the  Presbytery  to  dissolve  his  pastoral  connexion 
with  them,  that  they  may  proceed  to  the  election  of  another. 
— In  like  manner,  if  the  pastor  becomes  dissatisfied  with  the 
people  and  desires  the  dissolution  of  his  pastoral  connexion 
with  them,  he  has  the  same  privilege  as  the  people. — lb., 
chap.  XVII. 

If  a  minister  is  charged  with  heresy  or  immorality,  he  is 
tried — not  by  ministers  exclusively — but.  by  an  equal  number 
of  ministers  and  ruling  elders. 

In  short,  nothing  is  done,  in  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
without  the  concurrence  of  the  people  or  their  chosen  repre- 
sentatives.— If  a  private  member  of  the  church  is  received, 
he  is  received  by  a  vote  of  the  church  session.  If  a  candi- 
date for  the  gospel  ministry  is  received  upon  trial,  it  must  be 
by  the  joint  vote  of  the  ministers  and  ruling  elders  compos- 
ing the  presbytery.  If  a  candidate  is  licensed,  it  is  by  the 
same  concurrent  vote.    If  a  licentiate  is  ordained,  or  a  min- 


GOVERNMENT  AND  DISCIPLINE. 


ister  installed  over  any  congregation,  it  is  by  the  joint  vote1 
of  the  ministers  and  ruling  elders.  So  in  regard  to  all  our 
denominational  Boards  of  Education,  Publication,  and  Mis- 
sions; they  are  appointed  by  the  same  concurrent  vote,  and 
are  composed — not  of  ministers  exclusively — but  of  minis- 
ters and  laymen. — In  every  department  of  the  government, 
legislative,  judicial,  and  executive,  the  representatives  of  the 
people  have  an  equal  voice  with  the  clergy. 

Thus  you  perceive,  that  the  government  and  discipline  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  are  eminently  republican  and  lib- 
eral. The  people  are  fairly  and  fully  represented  in  every 
department,  and  their  rights  and  liberties  amply  and  con- 
stitutionally secured.  This  is  one  reason  of  their  firm  ad- 
herence and  unchangeable  attachment  to  their  venerated 
church.  Between  their  pastors  and  themselves,  there  are 
no  grounds  for  suspicion  or  distrust; — nor  do  they  love 
their  ministers  the  less,  because  they  confide  in  the  intel- 
ligence and  integrity  of  the  people,  and  commend  them 
for  the  zealous  maintenance  of  their  unalienable  rights, 
If  space  allowed,  we  might  show  that,  to  them,  under 
God,  more  than  to  any  other  people,  the  world  owes  what- 
ever of  civil  and  religious  liberty  it  now  enjoys.  And  if 
any  aristocratical  or  monarchal  sect  should  ever  attempt 
the  destruction  of  public  freedom,  we  may  safely  predict, 
from  the  history  of  the  past  and  their  present  unabated 
attachment  to  their  principles,  that  the  Presbyterians  of 
this  country,  will  rally  to  a  man  around  the  standard  of 
civil  and  religious  liberty,  and  prove  themselves  not  un- 
worthy of  the  noble  inheritance  which  they  have  derived 
from  the  word  of  God  and  their  illustrious  fathers ! 


CHAPTER  III. 


CLERICAL  CONTROL  OF  CHURCH  PROPERTY. 

The  Methodist  meeting  houses  and  parsonages  under  the  control  of  the 
itinerant  clergy. — Deed  of  settlement  analyzed. — Unanimous  opinion  of 
seven  lawyers — and  the  decision  of  the  supreme  court  of  Pennsylvania. 
— The  chartered  fund  and  book  concern  also  under  the  entire  control 
of  the  clergy. — Printed  circular  of  1842,  showing  the  capital  of  the 
book  concern  to  be  upwards  of  six-hundred  thousand  dollars — Laymen 
expressly  excluded  from  any  share  in  the  management  or  appropria- 
tion of  these  funds — Dangerous  tendency  of  such  proscription. — Testi- 
mony of  others  on  these  subjects. — The  system  of  Methodism  in  these 
respects  contrasted  with  Presbyterianism. 

Before  I  proceed  to  prove  that  the  Methodist  clergy- 
have  the  entire  control  of  their  church  property,  I  must  ex- 
pose the  quibble  to  which  some  of  the  apologists  of  Meth- 
odism resort  in  defending  their  system  against  this  weighty 
charge.  When  we  allege,  for  example,  that  their  meeting 
houses  and  parsonages  are  under  the  control  of  their  preach- 
ers, they  deny  that  they  are  in  their  individual  possession, 
and  proceed  to  show  that  they  are  not  able  to  dispose  of 
them  and  appropriate  the  proceeds  to  their  private  and  per- 
sonal use ! — As  well  might  the  apologists  of  kings  deny  that, 
as  such,  they  have  not  the  control  of  "  the  property  of  the 
crown,"  because  they  cannot  sell  and  appropriate  it  to  their 
private  benefit !  ! 

Webster  gives  the  following  definitions:— 

"Control,  n. — 1.  Primarily,  a  book,  register  or  ac- 
count, kept  to  correct  or  check  another  account  or  register; 
a  counter-register.  Hence,  check,  restraint.  2.  Power;  au- 
13 


98 


CHURCH  PROPERTV. 


thority;  government;  command.  3.  He  or  that  which  re- 
strains. 

"Control,  v.  t. — 1.  To  keep  under  check  by  a  coun- 
ter-register or  double  account.  2.  To  check;  to  restrain;  to 
govern.  3.  To  overpower;  to  subject  to  authority;  to  coun- 
teract; to  have  under  command.  4.  To  direct  or  govern  in 
opposition;  to  have  superior  force  or  authority  over. 

"  Controllable,  a. — That  may  be  controlled,  checked 
or  restrained;  subject  to  command. 

"  Controlled,  pp. — Checked;  restrained;  governed. 

"Controller,  n. — 1.  One  who  controls  or  restrains; 
one  that  has  the  power  or  authority  to  govern  or  control.  2. 
An  officer  appointed  to  keep  a  counter-register  of  accounts,  or 
to  oversee,  control  or  verify  the  accounts  of  other  officers. 

"  Controlment,  n. — 1.  The  poweror  act  of  controlling; 
the  state  of  being  restrained;  control;  restraint.  2.  Oppo- 
sition; resistance;  counter-action;  refutation." 

In  vain  do  you  look  among  the  above  definitions  for  the 
idea  of  personal  possession: — the  leading  idea  is,  that  of  au- 
thoritative or  governmental  restraint.  If  we  had  intended  to 
allege,  that  the  Methodist  clergy  personally  own  the  church 
property,  and  therefore  have  the  power  to  sell  it  for  their  pri- 
vate use,  we  should  have  said  so  in  just  so  many  words. 
But  when  we  say  that  the  property  of  their  church  is  con- 
trolled by  their  clergy,  we  mean  precisely  what  the  term  im- 
ports, viz: — that  it  is  "  checked,  restrained,  governed"  by 
them — that  they  have  "the  power  or  authority  to  govern" 
it — that  it  is  "  subject  to  (their)  authority'' — is  "  under 
(their)  command" — and  that  they  can  "  direct  or  govern  (it) 
in  opposition"  to  the  will  of  the  people,  because  they  "  have 
superior  force  or  authority  over"  it.  This  is  exactly  what 
we  allege — and  now  for  the  proof: — 

Mr.  Lee  in  his  Short  History,  page  234,  says — "  We" 
(the  General  Conference)  "  also,  for  the  first  time,  drew  up, 


CHURCH  PROPERTY. 


99 


•and  published  in  our  general  minutes,  a  deed,  for  the  better 
securing  of  all  our  meeting  houses;  and  it  was  determined  as 
far  as  it  was  consistent  with  the  laws  of  the  different  states, 
it  should  be  carried  into  effect.  We  concluded  to  have  nine, 
seven  or  five  trustees  to  each  house." 

The  Discipline  says, — "  In  order,  more  effectually  to  pre- 
vent our  people  from  contracting  debts  which  they  are  not 
able  to  discharge,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Quarterly  Con- 
ference, of  every  circuit  and  station,  where  it  is  contemplated 
to  build  a  house  or  houses  of  worship,  to  secure  the  ground 
or  lot,  on  which  such  house  or  houses  are  to  be  built,  ac- 
cording to  our  deed  of  settlement,  which  deed  must  be  legally 
executed;  and  also  said  Quarterly  Conference  shall  appoint  a 
judicious  committee  of  at  least  three  members  of  our  church, 
who  shall  form  an  estimate  of  the  amount  necessary  to  build; 
and  three-fourths  of  the  money,  according  to  such  estimate, 
shall  be  secured  or  subscribed  before  any  such  building  shall 
be  commenced. 

"  In  future,  we  will  admit  no  charter,  deed  or  conveyance, 
for  any  house  of  worship  to  be  used  by  us,  unless  it  be  pro- 
vided in  such  charter,  deed,  or  conveyance,  that  the  trustees 
of  said  house  shall  at  all  times  permit  such  ministers  and 
preachers  belonging  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  as 
shall  from  time  to  time  be  duly  authorized  by  the  General 
Conference  of  the  ministers  of  our  church,  or  by  the  Annual 
Conferences,  to  preach  and  expound  God's  holy  word,  and 
to  execute  the  discipline  of  the  church,  and  to  administer 
the  sacraments  therein,  according  to  the  true  meaning  and 
purport  of  our  deed  of  settlement.'''' — Dis.,  part  II.,  sec.  2. 

Again,  in  the  same  section  of  the  Discipline,  the  deed  of 
settlement  is  thus  introduced: — 

"  Ques.  4.  What  shall  be  done  for  the  security  of  our 
preaching  houses,  and  the  premises  belonging  thereto? 


100 


CHURCH  PROPERTY. 


"  Ans.  Let  the  following  plan  of  a  deed  of  settlement  be 
brought  into  effect  in  all  possible  cases,  and  as  far  as  thelaws 
of  the  states  respectively  will  admit  of  it.  But  each  Annu- 
al Conference  is  authorized  to  make  such  modification  in 
the  deeds  as  they  may  find  the  different  usages  and  customs 
of  law  require  in  the  different  states  and  territories,  so  as  to 
secure  the  premises  firmly  by  deed,  and  permanently  to  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  according  to  the  true  intent 
and  meaning  of  the  following  form  of  a  deed  of  settle- 
ment; any  thing  in  the  said  form  to  the  contrary  notwithstand- 
ing." 

Then  follows  the  deed  of  settlement,  from  which  we 
transcribe  the  following  extracts. — After  stating  in  the  usual 
technical  form,  the  names  of  the  grantor,  and  trustees,  des- 
cribing the  property,  &c,  the  indenture  proceeds  thus: — 

"  To  have  and  to  hold  all  and  singular,  the  above  men- 
tioned and  described  lot  or  piece  of  land,  situate,  lying,  and 
being  as  aforesaid,  together  with  all  and  singular,  the  hous- 
es, woods,  waters,  ways,  and  privileges  thereto  belonging, 
or  in  any  wise  appertaining  unto  them  the  said  ****  and  their 
successors  in  office  for  ever  in  trust,  that  they  shall  erect  and 
build,  or  cause  to  be  erected  and  built  thereon,  a  house  or 
place  of  worship  for  the  use  of  the  members  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States  of  America,  according 
to  the  rules  and  discipline,  which  from  time  to  time  may  be 
agreed  upon  and  adopted  by  the  ministers  and  preachers  of 
the  said  church,  at  their  General  Conferences  in  the  United 
States  of  America;  and  in  farther  trust  and  confidence  that 
they  shall  at  all  times,  forever  hereafter,  permit  such  ministers 
and  preachers  belonging  to  the  said  church,  as  shall  from 
time  to  time  be  duly  authorized  by  the  General  Conference  of 
the  ministers  and  preachers  of  the  said  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  or  by  the  Annual  Conferences  authorized  by  the 


CHURCH  PROPERTY. 


101 


said  General  Conference,  to  preach  and  expound  God's 
holy  word  therein;  and  in  farther  trust  and  confidence,  that  as 
often  as  any  one  or  more  of  the  trustees  herein  before  men- 
tioned, shall  die,  or  cease  to  be  a  member  or  members  of  the 
said  church,  according  to  the  rules  and  discipline  as  afore- 
said, then,  and  in  such  case,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  sta- 
tioned minister  or  preacher  (authorized  as  aforesaid)  who 
shall  have  the  pastoral  charge  of  the  members  of  the  said 
church,  to  call  a  meeting  of  the  remaining  trustees  ar-  soon 
as  conveniently  may  be:  and  when  so  met,  the  suid  minister 
or  preacher  shall  proceed  to  nominate  one  or  more  persons  to 
fill  the  place  or  places  of  him  or  them  whose  office  or  offices 
has  (or  have)  been  vacated  as  aforesaid." 

It  is  provided  also  in  the  deed,  that  if  the  trustees  should 
at  any  time  be  unable  to  pay  the  debt  for  which  they  have 
become  responsible,  "  on  account  of  the  said  premises," 
they  "  shall  be  authorized  to  raise  the  said  sum  or  sums  of 
money,  by  a  mortgage  on  the  said  premises,  or  by  selling 
the  said  premises,  after  notice  given  to  the  pastor  or  preacher 
who  has  the  oversight  of  the  congregation  attending  divine 
service  on  the  said  premises,  if  the  money  due  be  not  paid 
to  the  said  trustees,  or  their  successors,  within  one  year  af- 
ter such  notice  given;  and  if  such  sale  take  place,  the  said 
trustees,  or  their  successors,  after  paying  the  debt  and  other 
expenses  which  are  due  from  the  money  arising  from  such 
sale,  shall  deposite  the  remainder  of  the  money  produced  by 
the  said  sale  in  the  hands  of  the  steward  or  stewards  of  the 
society  belonging  to  or  attending  divine  service  on  said 
premises;  which  surplus  of  the  produce  of  such  sale  so  de- 
posited in  the  hands  of  the  said  steward  or  stewards,  shall 
be  at  the  disposal  of  the  next  Annual  Conference  authorized 
as  aforesaid;  which  said  Annual  Conference  shall  dispose  of 
the  said  money,  according  to  the  best  of  their  judgment,  for 
the  use  of  the  said  society." — Dis.,  part  II.,  sec.  2. 


102 


CHURCH  PROPERTY. 


Appended  to  this  form  of  a  deed  of  settlement,  there  is 
the  following: — "  N.  B.  Let  nine  trustees  be  appointed  for 
preaching'  houses,  where  proper  persons  can  be  procured; 
otherwise  seven  or  five.  The  board  of  trustees  of  every  cir- 
cuit or  station  shall  be  responsible  to  the  Quarterly  Meeting 
Conference,  circuit  or  station,  and  shall  be  required  to  pre- 
sent a  report  of  its  acts  during  the  preceding  year:  provided 
that  in  all  cases,  when  a  new  board  of  trustees  is  to  be  crea- 
ted, it  shall  be  done  (except  in  those  states  and  territories, 
where  the  statutes  provide  differently)  by  the  appointment 
of  the  preacher  in  charge,  or  the  presiding  elder  of  the  dis- 
trict."—lb. 

Now,  if  these  official  documents  do  not  prove  that  the 
Methodist  clergy  have  the  "  entire  control"  of  their  meeting 
houses  and  parsonages,  it  is  not  only  impossible  to  prove 
any  thing,  but  it  is  impossible  for  any  body  of  men  officially 
to  secure  such  control.  That  they  did  design  by  this  au- 
thoritatively enjoined  and  carefully  constructed  indenture, 
(which  looks  much  more  like  the  elaborate  work  of  "  coun- 
sellors learned  in  the  law,"  than  that  of  Methodist  preach- 
ers,)— that  they  did  design  by  this  deed  to  secure  to  them- 
selves the  entire  control  of  the  property  of  the  church,  there 
can  be  no  doubt;  and  we  think  that  they  have  effectually  ac- 
complished their  purpose. 

But  let  us  examine  the  evidence  in  detail — for  the  method 
of  induction  is  the  most  "  satisfactory,"  because  it  is  the 
most  certain. 

1.  It  appears  from  the  foregoing  quotation  from  the  Book 
of  Discipline,  that  every  Quarterly  Meeting  Conference  is 
required  to  appoint  a  committee  to  estimate  the  cost  of  any 
church  which  the  people  contemplate  erecting,  and  that 
"  three-fourths  of  the  money,  according  to  such  estimate, 
shall  be  secured  or  subscribed  before  any  such  building  shall 
be  commenced." — Is  this  not  assuming  the  right  of  control? 


CHURCH  PROPERTY. 


J  03 


1  will  say  nothing  of  the  interference  with  the  rights  of  the 
people,  in  the  appointment,  by  the  conference,  of  such  a 
committee,  and  the  authority  thus  vested  in  them,  to  deter- 
mine what  amount  is  necessary  for  the  erection  of  a  place 
of  worship.  But  suppose  that  a  congregation  desired  to 
commence  a  house  of  worship,  without  having  such  an 
amount  secured  or  subscribed,  would  they  not  be,  by  this 
clerical  rule,  effectually  "  checked,"  or  "  restrained  ?"  Now, 
what  other  body  of  protestant  ministers,  in  this  free  coun- 
try, would  undertake  to  forbid  any  of  their  congregations 
from  commencing  a  house  of  worship,  unless  they  first  se- 
cured or  had  subscribed  a  certain  amount  of  money  ?  Would 
any  other  people  succumb  to  such  clerical  dictation,  in  a 
matter  purely  temporal  ?  We  know  not  what  our  Methodist 
brethren  understand  by  the  word  control — but  we  can  as- 
sure them  that  the  tamest  Presbyterian  parish  in  Christen- 
dom wrould  scorn  to  submit  to  such  a  restraint  as  this  !  Ob- 
serve, we  have  said  nothing  relative  to  the  expediency,  or  in- 
expediency of  commencing  a  house  of  worship,  without 
having  such  a  proportion  of  the  estimated  cost  secured  or 
subscribed  in  advance;  and  had  the  conference  simply  re- 
commended that,  in  ordinary  cases,  such  an  amount  should 
be  previously  secured,  we  should  certainly  have  nothing  to 
say  against  it; — but  the  rule  is  obligatory — the  prohibition 
universal  and  authoritative,  and  therefore  an  unjustifiable 
check  or  restraint  upon  the  temporal  rights  of  the  people. 

2.  The  General  Conference  has  made  it"  the  duty  of  the 
Quarterly  Conference,  to  secure  the  ground  or  lot  on  which 
such  house  or  houses  are  to  be  built,  according  to  our  deed 
of  settlement." — 76.  Is  not  this  control, — check,  restraint, 
government  ? 

3.  "  In  future,  we  will  admit  no  charter,  deed,  or  con- 
veyance, for  any  house  of  worship,  to  be  used  by  us,  unless 


104 


CHURCH  PROPERTY. 


it  be  provided  in  such  charter,'' &c. — "  according  to  the  true 
meaning  and  purport  of  our  deed  of  settlement." — 76.  Is 
not  this  control  ? — Suppose  a  congregation  should  adopt  a 
charter,  providing  that  their  property  should  be  for  the  use 
of  that  particular  society,  and  subject  to  the  rules  and  regu- 
lations which  a  majority  of  its  own  members  should  from 
time  to  time  adopt,  would  the  deed  be  accepted  by  the  con- 
ference?— Or  suppose  that  they  should  prudently  provide  in 
their  charter,  against  being  obliged  to  submit  to  any  future 
rules  which  the  conference  might  adopt,  contrary  to  the 
views  of  a  majority  of  the  congregation,  would  their  deed 
be  accepted  ?  Certainly  not. — You  may  build  the  house, 
and  pay  for  it,  say  the  conference  to  the  people,  but  we  will 
not  use  it — that  is,  we  will  not  preach  the  gospel  to  you, 
or  administer  the  sacraments  in  it,  unless  you  make  your 
deed  in  accordance  with  the  form  which  we  have  prescribed  !  ! 

4.  It  appears  from  the  "  N.  B."  before  quoted  from  the 
Discipline,  "  that  in  all  cases,  when  a  new  board  of  trustees 
is  to  be  created,  it  shall  be  done  (except  in  those  states  and 
territories  where  the  statutes  provide  differently)  by  the  ap- 
pointment of  the  preacher  in  charge,  or  the  presiding  elder  of 
the  district."  And  in  the  deed  of  settlement  it  is  expressly 
provided,  that  if  any  vacancy  should  occur  in  any  board  of 
trustees — the  "  pastor  shall  proceed  to  nominate  one  or  more 
persons  to  fill  the  place" — and  the  remaining  trustees,  "  shall 
proceed  to  elect,  and  by  a  majority  of  votes,  appoint  the  per- 
son or  persons  so  nominated;"  "and  in  case  of  an  equal 
number  of  votes  for  and  against  the  said  nomination,  the  sta- 
tioned minister  or  preacher  shall  have  the  casting  vote." — 
Is  not  this  control  ?  It  might  be  supposed  that  when  the 
deed  by  which  the  parochial  property  is  held  is  in  accordance 
with  their  prescribed  form,  that  this  would  be  quite  suffi- 
cient, and  that  the  people  would  at  least  be  trusted  with  the 


CHURCH  PROPERTY. 


105 


privilege  of  appointing  their  own  board  of  trustees,  and  of 
filling  any  vacancies  that  should  occur  in  them.  But  no, — 
if  anew  board  is  to  be  created,  the  preacher  is  to  appoint  his 
men — and  if  any  vacancies  occur,  in  boards  already  existing, 
the  remaining  trustees  must  fill  them  up,  from  the  nomina- 
tions of  the  pastor. — Is  not  this  control — check,  restraint, 
government  ? 

In  reference  to  this,  "  A  Methodist"  says, — "  The  preach- 
er has  the  power  of  nominating  trustees  in  case  of  vacancy. 
This  has  been  said  to  give  him  control  over  them.  If  so, 
the  president  of  the  United  States,  by  and  with  the  advice 
and  consent  of  the  senate,  controls  the  judiciary  of  this 
country,  as  he  nominates  the  judges  of  the  supreme  court." 
I  am  obliged  to  "A  Methodist"  for  this  illustration — it  an- 
swers my  purpose  exactly.  In  order,  however,  to  make  the 
two  cases  analogous,  suppose  that  the  president  of  the  Uni- 
ted States  had  not  only  the  power  to  nominate  the  judges  of 
the  supreme  court,  but  also  of  making  all  the  laws  by  which 
the  judges  must  be  governed  in  their  judicial  administration, 
would  he  not  have  the  control  of  the  judiciary  of  this  coun- 
try— and,  through  it,  of  the  civil  and  political  rights  of  the 
people? — For,  be  it  remembered,  the  Methodist  preachers 
not  only  nominate  the  trustees,  but  make  all  "  the  rules  and 
regulations,"  by  which  the  trustees  are  governed  !  Our  civil 
and  political  "  security'''1  is,  not  merely  that  the  judges  are 
"  not  removable"  at  the  pleasure  of  the  president,  but  that 
they  are  bound  to  administer  laws  which  are  made  by  the 
representatives  of  the  people,  and  according  to  the  constitu- 
tion, adopted  by  the  people  and  alterable  only  by  their  sov- 
ereign will — and  that  the  judges  are  liable  to  impeachment, 
and  hence  amenable  to  the  people,  through  their  representa- 
tives, for  any  mal-administration  of  their  office.  If  it  were 
otherwise — if  the  president  had  the  power  of  making  what 
14 


106 


CHURCH  PKOPERTV. 


laws  he  pleased,  and  the  judges  appointed  by  him  were  ir- 
responsible to  the  people,  what  security  should  we  have  for 
our  property,  liberty,  or  lives  ?  Would  not  such  a  control 
over  the  judiciary  of  the  country  be  regarded  as  imminently 
dangerous  ?  Would  the  people  of  these  United  States  tole- 
rate it  for  a  moment  ?  And  yet,  it  is  an  undeniable  fact,  that 
the  trustees  of  Methodist  meeting  houses  and  parsonages 
are  not  only  nominated  by  the  preachers,  but  they  are  sub- 
ject to  all  the  "  rules  and  regulations,"  which  may  be  from 
time  to  time  adopted  by  the  General  Conference;  nor  can 
either  the  trustees  or  the  preachers  be  called  to  an  account 
for  their  official  acts,  by  the  people: — and  hence,  it  is  evi- 
dent, that  the  clergy  of  that  sect  have  the  entire  control  of 
the  property,  held  by  the  trustees,  so  nominated  and  gov- 
erned. 

5.  In  the  deed  of  settlement  it  is  specially  provided  "  in 
farther  trust  and  confidence,  that  they"  (the  trustees)  "shall  at 
all  times,  forever  hereafter,  permit  such  ministers  and  preach- 
ers belonging  to  the  said  church,"  (the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  in  the  United  States  of  America,)  "  as  shall  from 
time  to  time  be  duly  authorized  by  the  General  Conferences 
of  the  ministers  and  preachers  of  the  said  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  or  by  the  Annual  Conferences  authorized 
by  the  said  General  Conference,  to  preach  and  expound 
God's  holy  word  therein."  And  in  the  second  section  of 
part  II.  of  the  Discipline,  the  conference  declare  that  they 
will  not  admit  any  charter  in  which  this  provision  is  not  in- 
corporated !  Now,  is  not  this  control  ?  Suppose  the  trus- 
tees and  congregation  of  any  Methodist  Church  were  dissa- 
tisfied with  a  preacher  sent  to  them  by  the  bishop,  could 
they  exclude  him  from  the  occupancy  of  their  house  of  wor- 
ship ?  Suppose  the  trustees  and  congregation  were  unani- 
mously desirous  of  making  an  arrangement  with  ministers 


CHURCH  PROPERTY. 


107 


of  other  persuasions  to  occupy  their  pulpit  on  the  sabbaths, 
when  their  circuit  preacher  was  absent,  could  not  the  preach- 
er change  his  appointments,  and  so  prevent  the  congrega- 
tion from  carrying  out  their  wishes  ?  Suppose  that  the  trus- 
tees and  congregation  were  desirous  of  granting  the  use  of 
their  meeting  house  for  some  useful  exhibition,  or  popular 
lecture,  could  not  the  preacher  prevent  it  by  making  an  ap- 
pointment to  preach  on  that  day  and  at  that  hour  ?  Observe, 
the  question  is  not  whether  it  would  ever  be  expedient  for  a 
Methodist  congregation  to  loan  their  church  for  any  such 
purpose,  or  wise  to  allow  any  minister  of  another  denomina- 
tion to  occupy  their  pulpit,  without  the  consent  of  the  pastor 
or  preacher  in  charge;  but  the  question  is,  cannot  the  preach- 
ers, by  this  clause  of  the  deed,  restrain  the  people  from 
using  their  property  as  they  might  think  proper  ?  The  ques- 
tion is  not  even  whether  the  General  Conference  have  the 
moral  right  to  say  on  what  terms  they  will  use  the  meeting 
houses  for  the  purpose  of  expounding  God's  holy  word  there- 
in, it  is  simply  a  question  of  fact — whether  this  clause  in 
the  deed,  prescribed  by  them,  does  not  give  them  the  con- 
trol of  the  property  ?  And  that  it  does  give  them  the  re- 
straining or  controlling  power  over  every  house  of  worship 
held  by  this  deed  of  settlement,  or  by  any  charter  which  is 
"  according  to  the  true  intent  and  meaning"  of  this  deed, 
who  can  doubt  ? 

6.  It  appears  from  the  deed  of  settlement,  that  the  pro- 
perty is  not  held  for  the  use  of  the  particular  congregation 
who  build  and  pay  for  it,  but  for  the  use  of  the  members  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States  of 
America!  Thus: — "in  trust,  that  they"  (the  trustees) 
"  shall  erect  and  build,  or  cause  to  be  erected  and  built  there- 
on a  house  or  place  of  worship  for  the  use  of  the  members 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States  of 


108 


CHURCH  PROPERTY. 


America."  The  right,  therefore,  is  not  vested  in  the  mem- 
bers of  any  particular  congregation,  such  as  "  the  Light 
street  Methodist  Church,"  or  "  the  Eutaw  street  Methodist 
Church," — but  in  the  members  of  "the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church  in  the  United  States  of  America  !"  The  congrega- 
tion, who  pay  for  the  building,  are  not  even  to  be  named  in 
the  deed  as  the  owners  of  the  property  for  which  they  have 
paid  !  !  And,  pray,  who  are  the  legal  representatives  or 
agents  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United 
States  of  America,  in  which  the  right  of  property  is  thus 
vested  ?  Are  they  not  the  ministers  and  preachers  compos- 
ing the  General  Conference  ?  And  who  are  the  exclusive  and 
irresponsible  rulers  of  the  members  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  in  the  United  States  of  America?  Are  they 
not  the  ministers  and  preachers  composing  the  General  Con- 
ference ?  And  as  they  have  the  entire  government  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States  of  Ameri- 
ca, in  which  the  right  of  property  is  vested,  have  they  not 
therefore  the  entire  control  of  the  property  ? 

I  am  grieved  and  mortified  to  be  obliged  to  expose,  what 
must  be  regarded  as  either  an  unpardonable  oversight  by  "  A 
Methodist,"  or  as  a  wilful  and  wicked  suppression  of  the 
truth.  In  his  last  article,  he  says, — "  As  to  the  church  pro- 
perty, the  Discipline  recommends  a  deed  of  settlement,  (p. 
161,)  in  which  the  property  is  conveyed  to  trustees,  'for  the 
use  of  the  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.'" 
Now,  with  the  deed  before  him,  how  could  he  overlook  the 
remaining  part  of  the  sentence — "  in  the  United  States  of 
America}" — Or,  if  he  saw  it,  how  could  he  deliberately 
suppress  it !  Did  he  wish  his  readers  to  infer,  from  his  im- 
perfect quotation,  that  the  property  was  conveyed,  according 
to  the  deed,  for  the  use  of  the  members  of  the  congregation 
who  built  and  paid  for  it,  and  that  the  right  of  ownership  was 


CHURCH  PROPKRTY. 


109 


vested  in  them  ?  Whether  he  designed  to  make  this  im- 
pression or  not,  it  is  certain  that  many  actually  received  it, 
and  not  a  few  regarded  the  quotation  as  decisive  proof  to 
that  effect  !  Really,  Mr.  "  Methodist,"  such  carelessness  in 
citing  authorities,  or  such  disingenuousness  in  the  use  made 
of  them,  is  very,  very  dishonourable  and  reprehensible  ! 

7.  Agreeably  to  the  deed  of  settlement,  the  trustees  are  au- 
thorized to  hold  the  property  in  trust  "  for  the  use  of  the 
members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United 
States  of  America,  according  to  the  rules  and  discip- 
line, which  from  time  to  time  may  be  agreed  upon  and  adopt- 
ed BY  THE   MINISTERS  AND   PREACHERS  of  the  Said  church, 

at  their  General  Conferences  in  the  United  States  of  Ameri- 
ca." That  is, — gentlemen,  you  may  hold  the  property  in  trust 
for  the  use  of  the  members, — but — but  the  members  shall 
use  it  only  according  to  the  rules  and  discipline,  which  we, 
the  ministers  and  preachers,  may  from  time  to  time  agree 
upon  and  prescribe  !!!  If  this  is  not  assuming  the  control  of 
the  property,  pray,  what  would  be?  Observe,  it  is  not  restraint 
enough,  that  the  members  are  authorized  to  use  the  property 
only  according  to  the  rules  and  discipline  already  agreed  up- 
on by  the  General  Conference;  but  they  are  authorized  to  use 
it,  only  in  accordance  with  the  rules  and  discipline  which  it 
may  please  the  ministers  and  preachers  to  agree  upon  and 
adopt  hereafter — "  from  time  to  time"  !  !  !  Yes,  no  matter 
how  arbitrary  the  rules,  or  how  oppressive  the  discipline 
which  may  be  in  future  agreed  upon  and  adopted  by  the 
General  Conference,  the  members  can  only  have  the  use  of 
the  churches  which  they  have  erected  and  paid  for,  by  sub- 
mitting to  and  acting  in  accordance  with  them !  !  ! — This  is 
not  mere  control — but  control  the  most  despotic — and  by 
any  other  intelligent  protestant  denomination  would  be  re- 
garded as  intolerable ! 


110 


CHURCH  PROPERTY. 


Now,  why  did  not  "  A  Methodist"  quote  this  part  of  the 
deed  ? — especially  as  it  forms  a  part  of  the  very  sentence 
from  which  he  quoted  !  Why  he  did  not,  we  leave  with  his 
own  conscience:  but  the  public  cannot  fail  to  see,  that,  if  he 
had  quoted  the  entire  sentence,  it  would  have  demonstrated, 
beyond  all  doubt,  the  truth  of  what  I  had  alleged  !  But  this 
is  not  all; — immediately  after  the  imperfect  quotation  before 
noticed,  he  says, — "  The  only  right  reserved  to  the  preach- 
ers, is  the  right  to  preach  in  the  church  when  regularly  ap- 
pointed to  do  so."  !  !  So,  indeed  !  Then  the  reserved 
right  to  make  what  "rules  and  discipline"  they  please,  and 
according  to  which,  only  the  members  have  the  privilege  to 
use  their  meeting  houses,  is  considered  by  "  A  Methodist," 
either  as  no  right  at  all  !  or  as  too  insignificant  to  mention  !! 
O  shame  !  that  a  gentleman  should  thus  overlook,  or  wilfully 
suppress,  the  most  material  parts  of  a  document  from  which 
he  professes  to  quote! — and  that,  too,  while  he  is  volunteer- 
ing to  convict  an  accredited  minister  of  the  gospel — a 
"friend"! — of  "  bearing  false  witness  against  his  neigh- 
bours" ! !  !  No  wonder  that  some,  who  had  not  examined 
the  deed  for  themselves,  imagined  that  the  charge  of  clerical 
control  of  church  property  was  shown,  triumphantly,  to  be 
false  ! — for  who  would  have  suspected,  that  "  A  Methodist" 
would  either  have  overlooked,  or  suppressed,  the  remainder 
of  a  sentence,  which  indisputably  proves  the  charge  to  be 
true!!  Now,  if  this  had  been  done  by  an  "unconverted" 
and  "  cold-hearted"  Presbyterian,  it  would  not  have  been 
worse  than  some  would  have  expected,  and  it  might  have 
furnished  another  illustration  of  the  alleged  "  licentious  ten- 
dency of  Calvinism"! — Ah!  it  is  easy,  very,  to  shout 
"  Glory!"  "  Hallelujah!" — but,  according  to  our  old  fash- 
ioned notion,  it  is  much  more  acceptable  in  the  sight  of  God, 
to  avoid  such  negligence,  or  disingenuousness.    I  will  only 


CHURCH  PROPERTY. 


Ill 


say  further,  that  it'  the  Rev.  Mr.  Annan  were  convicted  of 
the  same  carelessness,  or  want  of  candour,  I  should  not  in- 
deed vauntingly  manifest  quite  as  much  fastidiousness  as 
"  A  Methodist,"  but  I  would  cordially  unite  with  him  in  re- 
pudiating his  authority  ! 

8.  According  to  the  deed  of  settlement,  the  trustees  of  a 
Methodist  Church  are  not  at  liberty  either  to  mortgage  or 
sell  the  property  held  by  them,  in  liquidation  of  the  debts 
due  by  the  congregation,  without  giving  a  year's  notice  to 
the  pastor  or  preacher  of  said  society — "  They,"  (the  trus- 
tees) "  or  a  majority  of  them,  shall  be  authorized  to  raise 
the  said  sum  or  sums  of  money,  by  a  mortgage  on  the  said 
premises,  or  by  selling  the  said  premises,  after  notice  given  to 
the  pastor  or  preacher  who  has  the  oversight  of  the  congre- 
gation attending  divine  service  on  the  said  premises,  if  the 
money  due  be  not  paid  to  the  said  trustees,  or  their  succes- 
sors, within  one  year  after  such  notice  given."  Is  not  this 
control — check,  restiaint,  government  ? 

9.  It  is  further  provided  in  the  deed  of  settlement,  that,  if 
the  property  is  sold,  the  balance,  after  paying  the  debt  and 
other  expenses,  shall  be  deposited,  not  with  the  trustees  of 
the  congregation,  to  be  by  them  disposed  of,  as  they  or  the 
people  may  judge  proper, — but  in  the  hands  of  the  steward 
or  stew-ards,  to  be  disposed  of  by  the  Annual  Conference,  ac- 
cording to  the  best  of  their  judgment,  for  the  use  of  said  so- 
ciety ! — "  And  if  such  sale  take  place,  the  said  trustees,  or 
their  successors,  after  paying  the  debt  and  other  expenses, 
which  are  due  from  the  money  arising  from  such  sale,  shall 
deposite  the  remainder  of  the  money  produced  by  the  said 
sale  in  the  hands  of  the  steward  or  stewards  of  the  society 
belonging  to,  or  attending  divine  service  on  said  premises; 
which  surplus  of  the  produce  of  such  sale  so  deposited  in 
the  hands  of  the  said  steward  or  stewards,  shall  be  at  the 


112 


CHURCH  FR0PERTV, 


disposal  of  the  next  Annual  Conference,  authorized  as  afore- 
said; which  said  Annual  Conference  shall  dispose  of  the  said 
money,  according  to  the  best  of  their  judgment,  for  the  use 
of  the  said  society."  Is  not  this  control?  It  has  been  re- 
marked on  this  clause  of  the  deed,  that  "  it  is  an  indisputa- 
ble principle  of  the  law,  that  if  a  property  be  sold  for  debt, 
the  residue  of  the  proceeds,  after  all  claims  on  the  property 
have  been  satisfied,  is  at  the  disposal  of  the  legal  owner  of 
the  property.  But  the  deed  says,  '  the  conference  shall  dis- 
pose of  it;'  therefore,  the  conference  is  the  legal  owner. 
The  fact  that  the  surplus  is  to  be  disposed  of  for  the  use  of 
the  society,  only  proves  that  those  who  wrote  the  deed,  meant 
to  act  honestly,  and  if  they  could  not  retain  the  church,  would 
not  pocket  the  money;  but  it  does  not  affect  the  ownership 
of  the  church  itself" — or  disprove  the  fact,  that,  from  begin- 
ning to  end,  the  conference  claim  the  right  of  controlling 
the  property — yea,  even  the  residue  of  the  proceeds  arising 
from  its  sale  ! 

10.  It  also  appears,  from  the  note  appended  to  the  deed  of 
settlement,  that  the  trustees  are  not  accountable  to  the  congre- 
gation, but  to  the  Quarterly  Meeting  Conference. — "  The 
board  of  trustees  of  every  circuit  or  station  shall  be  responsi- 
ble to  the  Quarterly  Meeting  Conference  of  said  circuit  or 
station,  and  shall  be  required  to  present  a  report  of  its  acts 
during  the  preceding  year." 

Lastly.  It  is  evident  from  the  deed  of  settlement,  that  the 
right  is  so  vested  in  the  General  Conference,  as  that  the  pro- 
perty can  never  be  alienated  from  them,  or  withdrawn  from 
their  control.  This  is  the  avowed  design  of  the  deed  pre- 
scribed in  the  Book  of  Discipline: — "  to  secure  the  premises 
firmly  by  deed,  and  permanently  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church."  Observe,  not  to  the  particular  congregations  who 
erect  and  pay  for  them, — but  "  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal 


CHURCH  PROPERTY. 


J13 


Church."  And  hence,  in  the  deed  itself,  it  is  provided  that 
the  property  shall  be  held  in  trust  "for  the  use  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States 
of  America,  according  to  the  rules  and  discipline,  which 
from  time  to  time  may  be  agreed  upon  and  adopted  by  the 
ministers  and  preachers  of  said  church  at  their  General  Con- 
ferences in  the  United  States  of  America;  and  in  farther  trust 
and  confidence,  that  they"  (the  trustees)  "  shall  at  all  times, 
forever  hereafter,  permit  such  ministers  and  preachers  be- 
longing to  the  said  church,  as  shall  from  time  to  time  be  duly 
authorized  by  the  General  Conferences  of  the  ministers  and 
preachers  of  the  said  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  or  by  the 
Annual  Conferences  authorized  by  the  said  General  Confer- 
ence, to  preach  and  expound  God's  holy  word  therein."  It 
is  obvious,  therefore,  that  if  the  trustees  and  congregation  of 
any  Methodist  Church  should  unanimously  desire  to  with- 
draw from  their  present  ecclesiastical  connexion,  they  could 
not  secede  and  yet  retain  their  place  of  worship  ! — No  mat- 
ter how  heretical,  in  their  unanimous  judgment,  the  Gene- 
ral Conference  had  become,  or  how  intolerably  arbitrary  and 
tyrannical  their  discipline,  the  congregation  could  not  ex- 
clude them  from  their  pulpit,  or  invite  any  other  ministers  to 
occupy  it  in  their  place  !  They  might  indeed  secede,  as  indi- 
viduals, from  the  denomination,  but  they  could  not  secede 
and  yet  retain  the  property, — that  would  remain,  "firmly" 
— "  permanently" — aye,  "  forever  hereafter  !"  for  the  use  of 
the  Methodists  in  the  United  States  of  America  !  !  and  for 
the  occupancy,  ad  libitum  et  ceternum,  of  the  ministers  and 
preachers  duly  authorized  by  the  General  Conference !  !  ! 
If  this  commitment,  unqualified  and  "  forever  hereafter," 
were  only  to  rules  and  discipline  already  known  and  un- 
changeably established,  we  should  not  be  so  much  astonish- 
ed;— but  it  is,  be  it  remembered,  to  any  rules  and  discipline 
15 


114 


CHURCH  PROPERTY. 


which  may  be  hereafter,  from  time  to  time  agreed  upon  and 
adopted  by  the  General  Conference — the  nature  of  which 
cannot  of  course  be  foreknown,  and  which  may  be  wise,  or 
foolish — liberator  despotic — scriptural,  or  anti-scriptural  !  ! ! 
— Verily,  this,  this  is  control  with  a  witness  !  * 

Now,  in  view  of  all  these  particulars — derived  from  the 
Book  of  Discipline  itself — is  not  the  induction  irresistible, 
that  the  clergy  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  have  the 
"  entire  control"  of  the  meeting  houses  and  parsonages  be- 
longing to  that  denomination? — They  have  forbidden  the 
people  to  commence  any  place  of  worship,  without  first  se- 
curing or  having  subscribed  three-fourths  of  the  cost,  esti- 
mated by  a  committee,  to  be  appointed  by  the  Quarterly 
Meeting  Conference: — they  have  forbidden  them  to  proceed, 
unless  the  lot,  on  which  they  contemplate  erecting  their 
church,  is  first  secured  according  to  their  prescribed  deed  of 
settlement: — they  have  resolved  that  they  will  admit  no 
charter  which  is  not  in  accordance  with  that  which  they 
have  enjoined: — they  have  assumed  the  right  of  appointing 
every  new  board  of  trustees,  and  of  nominating  persons  to  fill 
all  vacancies: — they  have  reserved  to  themselves  the  right 
to  use  the  churches,  at  all  times,  forever: — they  have  requir- 
ed, that  the  property  shall  be  held  in  trust,  for  the  use,  not 
of  the  members  of  any  particular  congregation,  but  of  the 
members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United 
States  of  America: — they  have,  decreed  that  the  churches 
shall  be  used  by  the  members  of  the  denomination,  only  in 
accordance  with  the  rules  and  discipline  which  they  may  from 
time  to  time  agree  upon  and  adopt: — they  have  determined, 
that  the  trustees  shall  not  be  authorized  to  mortgage  or  sell 
the  property  to  pay  the  debts  of  the  congregation,  without 
giving  a  year's  notice  to  the  pastor: — they  have  enacted  that, 
if  the  trustees  are  compelled  to  sell  the  property,  the  pro- 


CHURCH  PROPERTY. 


115 


eeeds  shall  be  at  the  disposal,  not  of  the  congregation,  but 
of  the  Annual  Conference: — they  have  resolved,  that  the  trus- 
tees, instead  of  making  their  report  to  the  society,  whose 
money  they  manage,  and  to  whom  they  ought  to  be  account- 
able, shall  be  responsible  to  the  Quarterly  Conference,  and 
make  their  yearly  report  to  them: — and  they  have  required, 
that  the  ownership  of  every  church  shall  be  secured,  firmly, 
permanently,  and  forever,  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
in  the  United  States,  of  which  they  are  the  exclusive  and  ir- 
responsible agents  and  controllers  !  so  that  no  congregation 
can  refuse  to  submit  to  the  rules  and  discipline  which  they 
may  see  fit  to  adopt,  or  secede  from  their  connexion,  with- 
out forfeiting  the  privilege  of  using  the  place  of  worship, 
which  they  have,  perhaps  with  many  sacrifices,  erected  and 
paid  for! — Surely,  surely,  from  all  these  particulars,  the  fact 
is  indubitably  established,  that  the  clergy  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  have  the  "  entire  control"  of  the  meeting 
houses  and  parsonages  of  that  denomination. 

It  would  seem  to  be  a  work  of  supererogation  to  produce 
any  further  evidence  in  proof  of  a  charge  so  clearly  and  ful- 
ly demonstrated:  but  I  will  subjoin,  for  the  "  satisfaction"  of 
my  Methodist  brethren,  the  unanimous  opinion  of  no  less 
than  seven  lawyers,  and  the  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
Pennsylvania. 

"  It  is,"  says  Dr.  Schmucker,  "  the  concurrent  opinion  of 
the  members  of  our  bar,  that  the  property  thus  deeded,  be- 
longs not  to  the  congregation,  but  to  the  Methodist  Church 
in  the  United  States,  represented  by  the  conference.  I  show- 
ed the  deed  to  seven  of  our  lawyers,  being  all  whom  I  could 
find  when  I  had  it  with  me,  and  this  was  their  unanimous 
opinion." 

Again,  the  Dr.  says,  "  the  principle  was  actually  decided 
by  the  Supreme  Court  of  Pennsylvania,  as  I  arn  informed  by 


116 


CHURCH  PROPERTY. 


a  member  of  our  bar.  The  jury,  governed,  we  presume,  by 
the  equity  of  the  case,  gave  verdict  for  the  Radicals,"  [Meth- 
odist Protestants,]  "  who  were  a  majority  both  in  the  church 
and  of  the  trustees.  The  minority  of  the  trustees,  as  agents 
of  the  conference,  appealed,  and  the  supreme  court  reversed 
the  decision  ■'  It  is  therefore  undeniable,"  he  continues, 
"  that  if  every  member  and  every  trustee  of  a  church,  thus 
deeded,  regarded  any  future  measures  of  the  conference  as 
tyrannical,  and  desired  to  withdraw  and  introduce  other 
preachers,  the  conference  could  turn  the  key  on  them,  and 
they  could  be  compelled  to  submit!  We  might  proceed  to 
show  that  the  plea  set  up  for  a  distinction  between  the  right 
of  *  occupancy'  in  the  conference  and  of  'possession'  in  the 
congregation,  is  a  quibble,  not  mentioned  in  the  deed,  nor  re- 
cognized by  the  laws  of  our  land:  but  we  believe  the  opinion 
of  our  respectable  bar,  and  of  the  supreme  court  of  our  state, 
a  sufficient  answer  to  all  such  evasions." 

"A  Methodist,"  who  appears  to  have  been  either  very  lit- 
tle acquainted  with  the  deed  of  settlement,  or  else  very 
much  afraid  of  its  real  character,  says, — "  In  fact,  but  few 
of  our  churches  are  held  under  this  deed  of  settlement.  In 
this  city,  the  trustees  fill  their  own  vacancies,  and  in  most 
of  the  Eastern  Conferences,  the  trustees  are  elected  by  the 
membership."  To  this  we  reply,  that,  so  far  as  the  General 
Conference  could  control  the  people,  they  have  obliged  them 
to  adopt  their  deed  of  settlement — not  only  by  enjoining  its 
adoption  "  in  all  possible  cases,"  but  by  resolving  that  they 
"  will  admit  no  charter"  that  does  not  include  the  material 
provisions  before  mentioned,  "  according  to  the  true  mean- 
ing and  purport  of  our  deed  of  settlement." — See  Dis.,  part 
II.,  sec.  2.  And  if,  in  some  of  the  states  and  territories,  in 
which  the  civil  statutes  will  not  admit  of  the  adoption  of  the 
deed  in  the  precise  form  in  which  it  is  found  in  the  Book  of 


CHURCH  PROPERTY. 


117 


Discipline;  or  if  in  cases  where  the  usages  and  customs  of 
the  people  require  some  modification  of  the  form  prescribed, 
— some  change  in  the  form  of  conveyance  is  allowed, — yet, 
in  every  case,  the  substance  of  the  deed  of  settlement  must 
be  preserved.  Thus: — "  Let  the  following  plan  of  a  deed 
of  settlement  be  brought  into  effect  in  all  possible  cases,  and 
as  far  as  the  laws  of  the  states  respectively  will  admit  of. 
But  each  Annual  Conference  is  authorized  to  make  such 
modification  in  the  deeds  as  they  may  find  the  different  usa- 
ges and  customs  of  law  require  in  the  different  states  and 
territories,  so  as  to  secure  the  premises  firmly  by  deed,  and 
permanently  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  according 
to  the  true  intent  and  meaning  of  the  following  form  of  a 
deed  of  settlement;  any  thing  in  the  said  form  to  the  contra- 
ry notwithstanding." — lb.  In  order  to  test  the  matter — let 
the  deeds  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Churches  in  this  city 
be  published,  fairly  and  fully,  and  then  the  public  will  be  able 
to  judge  whether  they  are  not  "  according  to  the  true  intent 
and  meaning"  of  the  deed  of  settlement.  And  if  in  this 
city,  where  the  Methodist  Protestants  have  so  ably  advocated 
the  rights  of  the  people,  any  Methodist  Episcopal  congrega- 
tions have  adopted  charters  differing  materially  from  the 
deed  of  settlement,  they  are  only  exceptions  to  the  general 
rule,  and  are  manifestly  in  direct  opposition  to  the  laws  of 
their  church,  as  published  in  the  Book  of  Discipline.  But 
we  do  not  believe  that  the  preachers  have  "  admitted"  any 
such  charters — because  they  have  deliberately  and  formally 
declared  that  they  would  not — and  this  declaration  is  still 
published  by  them  to  the  world;  and  therefore,  if  any  such 
charters  exist,  we  challenge  their  publication. — We  shall  be 
"  satisfied"  with  no  mere  assertion  or  evasion — let  us  have 
the  deeds  themselves.  And  after  the  imperfect  quotation 
from  one  which  we  have  had  occasion  to  expose,  we  shall 


118 


CHURCH  PROPERTY. 


not  be  thought  unreasonable  in  demanding  their  publication 
in  extenso — especially  as  they  are  more  private  and  less  ac- 
cessible to  the  public  than  the  form  of  the  deed  contained  in 
the  Discipline. 

Hitherto  we  have  spoken  only  of  the  meeting  houses  and 
parsonages  under  the  control  of  the  travelling  preachers  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  which  are  estimated  to 
be  worth  at  least  "  three  millions  eight  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars:" — But  there  are  other,  and  immense  funds, 
under  their  "  entire  control."  In  addition  to  what  they  terra 
"  The  Chartered  Fund,"  which  amounts  at  present,  it  is  said, 
to  "about  thirty  thousand  dollars," — they  have  what  they 
call  "  The  Book  Concern"  the  capital  of  which  exceeds, 
considerably,  the  half  of  a  million  of  dollars.  For  the  in- 
stitution, management  and  appropriation  of  these  funds,  see 
Book  of  Discipline,  part  II.,  sections  7th  and  8th. 

As  it  is  not  denied  that  these  funds  are  under  the  absolute 
control  of  the  preachers  and  for  the  exclusive  use  or  pecu- 
niary benefit  of  themselves  and  families,  the  mere  reference 
to  the  Discipline,  as  just  given,  is,  I  presume,  sufficient. 

The  extent  and  profitableness,  however,  of  the  book  con- 
cern, deserve  a  more  particular  notice.  These  may  be  seen 
from  the  following  printed  circular,  addressed  to  each  of  the 
Annual  Conferences  on  the  1st  of  Jan.,  1842,  and  which 
was,  at  my  request,  politely  procured  for  me,  from  the  office 
at  New  York,  by  "A  Methodist." 

"  New  York,  Jan.,  J,  1842. 
"  To  the  Annual  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 

copal Church: — 
"  Dear  Brethren, — 

"  In  the  discharge  of  our  duty  as  agents,  we  beg  leave 
to  lay  before  you  a  brief  statement  of  the  affairs  of  the  Meth- 


CHURCH  PROPERTY. 


119 


odist  book  concern  up  to  December  31,  1841.  We  were  in 
hopes  a  year  ago,  that  the  financial  and  mercantile  embar- 
rassments of  the  country  had  reached  a  crisis,  and  that  we 
might  thenceforward  look  for  an  improvement;  but  in  this 
we  have  been  disappointed,  and  have  found  the  difficulties, 
growing  out  of  the  deranged  state  of  the  currency,  to  ex- 
ceed all  former  years.  Our  loss  in  exchange,  amounts  to 
upward  of  $10,000.  Fewer  books  have  been  sold,  and  re- 
mittances greatly  retarded.  While  we  deeply  deplore  this 
state  of  things,  we  have  found  it  wholly  out  of  our  power  to 
control  it,  and,  with  others,  have  been  compelled  to  submit. 
For  the  success  which  has  attended  the  business  of  the  con- 
cern, (for  it  has  not  been  without  some  success)  we  are,  as  we 
always  have  been,  greatly  indebted  to  the  interest  felt  and 
manifested  by  its  friends,  many  of  whom  have  laboured  with 
their  accustomed  zeal,  by  selling  books,  obtaining  subscrip- 
tions for  periodicals,  and  making  remittances  to  promote  the 
great  objects  for  which  this  institution  was  established.  And 
it  is  to  be  hoped  that  such  are  the  views  of  brethren  with  regard 
to  the  connection  which  exists  between  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  and  the  book  concern,  and  their  dependence, 
one  upon  the  other,  that  there  will  be  no  falling  off  of  friends, 
or  relaxation  of  effort,  but  a  constant  increase  of  both  until  its 
utmost  capacity  of  doing  good  to  the  bodies  and  souls  of 
men  is  fully  developed. 

"  We  remain  dear  brethren, 

"  Your's  very  affectionately, 

"  G,  Lane  &  P.  P.  Sandford. 


120 


CHURCH  PROPERTY. 


"  EXHIBIT  OF  THE  METHODIST  BOOK  CONCERN, 
JANUARY  1,  1842. 

"  ASSETS. 

1.  Real  Estate— Four  houses  and  lease 

of  lots  in  Crosby  street,    .  . 
Lots  in  Mulberry  street,     .    .    .  $12,215,00 
Buildings  on  do.,  with  steam  eng 

water  works,  and  warming app; 

tus,   75,634,14 

2.  Printing  Office. — Presses,  type  and 

furniture,  

Stereotype  plates,  

Steel  plate  engravings,  and  wood  and 

metal  cuts,  

3.  Foundery. — Materials,  tools  and  fur 

niture,  

4.  Bindery. — Presses,  tools  and  mate 

rials,   

5.  Notes  and  Book  Accounts. — Viz.  ir 

notes,   50,764,G8 

In  book  accounts,   165,070,25 

Deduct  20  per  cent,  for  bad  debts 

transportation  and  exchange,  . 

6.  Merchandize. — Sunday  school  books 
Bound  books  of  the  general  cata- 
logue, including  Charleston  and 
Pittsburg  depositories,      .    .  . 

Sheet  stock,  

Paper,  furniture  in  offices,  &c.  . 

7.  Cash — In  bank,  drafts,  and  certifi- 

cates of  deposile  

8.  Periodicals. — Amount  due  on  the 

books  of  the  Christian  Advocate 
and  Journal  from  subscribers,  . 
Total  amount  of  assets,  .... 

"  LIABILITIES 


$12,000,00 

87,849,14 

$99,849,14 

76,067,14 

4,265,00 

102,099,22 

904,75 

5,717,16 

215,834,93 

43,166,98 

172,667,95 

20,543,27 

65,292,55 
84,960,34 
4,738,92 

175,535,08 

9,135,34 

42,000,00 

607,908,64 

The  concern  owes  on  notes,    .  . 

$765,00 

6,701,62 

Nett  amount  of  capital  stock  estima- 

ted at,   

The  nett  profits  of  the  concern  I  he 

past  year  amount  lo  

Total  amount  received  for  publish- 

ing fund  lo  this  date,  .... 

600,442,02 


45,175,16 


CHURCH  PROPERTY. 


121 


"  REMARKS. 

"  The  bound  books  of  the  general  catalogue  are  reckon- 
ed at  a  discount  of  fifty  per  cent,  from  the  retail  price,  and 
the  Sunday  school  books  at  twenty  per  cent.  The  folded  and 
sheet  stock  at  estimated  cost.  The  stock  in  printing  office, 
bindery,  &c,  at  what  it  is  believed  to  be  worth  in  cash." 

From  the  foregoing  circular,  it  appears,  that  the  "  nett 
capital"  of  the  book  concern  alone,  notwithstanding  the 
heavy  loss  sustained  a  few  years  since  by  fire,  amounted,  on 
the  first  of  January,  1842,  to  more  than  six  hundred 
thousand  dollars:  and  this  immense  and  increasing  capi- 
tal is  admitted  to  be  under  the  "  entire  control"  of  the 
preachers;  and  the  profits  are  in  fact,  exclusively  appropriat- 
ed by  them  to  the  exclusive  benefit  of  themselves  and  fami- 
lies ! 

The  "  nett  profits"  of  the  book  concern  during  the  year 
mentioned,  notwithstanding  "  the  financial  and  mercantile 
embarrassments  of  the  country,"  and  <4the  difficulties  grow- 
ing out  of  the  deranged  state  of  the  currency,"  which,  they 
say,  "  exceeded  all  former  years" — and  notwithstanding  their 
"loss  in  exchange  amounted  to  upward  of  $10,000," — not- 
withstanding these  unprecedented  difficulties  and  losses, 
"  the  nett  profits  of  the  concern,"  (exclusive,  of  course,  of 
the  salaries  of  all  their  bishops,  who  are  provided  for  out  of 
this  fund,)  amounted  to  very  nearly  forty  thousand  dol- 
lars ! 

What  the  profits  would  have  been,  but  for  the  extraordi- 
nary embarrassments  of  the  times,  and  the  enormous  "  loss 
in  exchange,"  we  cannot  tell,  but  no  doubt  they  would  have 
been  much  greater.  And  who  can  estimate  the  "  profits"  of 
such  a  concern,  when  it  shall  be  "  developed"  to  its  "  ut- 
16 


122 


CHURCH  PROPERTY. 


most  capacity  !  " — Let  it  be  remembered,  that  every  travel- 
ling preacher  is  personally  interested  in  the  sale  of  the  books 
and  the  circulation  of  the  periodicals,  issued  by  the  concern 
— that  these  interested  clerical  agents  number  several  thou- 
sands, and  have  peculiar  facilities  for  promoting  this  trade — 
and  that  the  people  who  constitute  their  liberal  and  zealous 
customers,  number  more  than  eight  hundred  thousand: — let 
these  facts,  I  say  be  remembered,  and  the  reader  may  form 
some  idea  of  the  "  capacity"  of  this  immense  concern,  when 
it  is  "  fully  developed  !  " 

There  are  serious  objections  to  this  secular  trade  on  the 
part  of  ministers  of  the  gospel,  personally  interested  in  its 
success,  and  especially  of  those  who  boast  of  being  pre-emi- 
nently disinterested — as  specially  devoted  to  the  alone  work 
of  winning  souls  to  Christ  !  The  apostles  would  not  be  in- 
terrupted in  their  spiritual  employment,  even  to  attend  to  the 
supply  of  the  necessary  wants  of  the  poor;  and  hence  re- 
quired the  people  to  elect  deacons,  who  should  attend  to 
this  matter,  that  they  might  give  themselves  "  continually  to 
prayer,  and  to  the  ministry  of  the  word."  But  the  preach- 
ers of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  not  only  engage  in 
the  immense  business  of  the  book  concern,  and  appropriate 
its  profits  to  their  own  exclusive  benefit  and  that  of  their 
families, — but  they  have,  by  express  legislation,  excluded  all 
laymen  from  taking  any  part  in  its  control !  !  And  is  there 
no  tendency  in  all  this  to  secularize  their  minds,  and  engen- 
der within  them  the  spirit  of  cupidity  and  worldliness  ?  In 
their  great  zeal  to  proselyte  men  from  Calvinistic  Presbyte- 
rianism  to  Arminian  Methodism,  may  they  not  sometimes  be 
unduly  influenced  by  the  desire  to  increase  the  number  of 
their  customers  ?  And  is  there  no  danger  to  be  apprehend- 
ed from  these  large  and  increasing  acquisitions  ?  Is  not  mo- 
ney— power?    Is  it  right  or  safe  to  intrust  any  body  of 


CHURCH  PROPERTY. 


123 


clergymen  with  such  absolute  and  irresponsible  control  over 
property  amounting  to  sn  much,  and  capable  of  being  in- 
creased almost  indefinitely  ?  Already  it  is  supposed  to 
amount — including  their  numerous  churches  and  parsonages 
—to  BETWEEN  FOUR  AND  FIVE  iMILLIONS  OF 
DOLLARS  ! — and  this  sum,  immense  as  it  is,  is  yearly  and 
rapidly  augmenting.  It  is  idle  to  say,  that  ihey  are  pious 
men,  and  therefore  Will  not  abuse  their  power.  We  know 
that  they  are  but  men;  and,  according  to  their  own  doctrine, 
the  best  of  them  may  "  fall  from  grace."  We  know  from 
history  the  corrupting  tendency  of  clerical  wealth  and  power 
— and  what  has  been,  may  be  again.  If  their  purposes  are 
purely  benevolent  and  upright,  what  objection  can  there  be 
to  allow  the  laity  to  participate  with  them  in  the  control  and 
disbursement  of  the  funds  ?  Have  they  any  more  right  to 
mistrust  the  people,  than  the  people  have  to  mistrust  them  ? 
The  truth  is,  that  independent  of  the  natural  jealousy  of  im- 
mense wealth — the  fact  that  they  have  retained  the  whole  of 
the  book  concern  under  their  exclusive  and  irresponsible  con- 
trol, and  for  the  exclusive  benefit  of  themselves  and  fami- 
lies, is  adapted  to  create,  in  thinking  minds,  the  deepest  ap- 
prehensions for  the  future  !  Nor  does  it  at  all  lessen  the  fears 
of  such,  that  the  very  men  who  thus  retain  the  entire  con- 
trol of  this  immense  and  increasing  capital,  are  the  very 
men  who  have  excluded  laymen  from  any  participation  in 
the  government  of  their  church,  and  have  assumed  to  them- 
selves, all  legislative,  judicial,  and  executive  power !  With 
the  right  to  make  what  "  rules  and  regulations"  they  please 
— with  the  meeting  houses  and  parsonages  "  firmly  and  per- 
manently" deeded  to  them  for  their  exclusive  use — and  with 
a  "  capital"  in  trade  already  amounting  to  more  than  six 
hundred  thousand  dollars,  and  constantly  increasing,  their 
power  may  well  excite  the  fears — not  of  Methodist  Christians 
alone — but  of  all  reflecting  patriots  ! 


124 


CHURCH  PROPERTY. 


To  show  that,  in  the  judgment  of  others,  the  "  profits"  of 
the  book  concern,  in  ordinary  times,  are  very  large;  and  that 
the  irresponsible  control  of  such  an  establishment,  by  the 
Methodist  clergy,  is  really  dangerous  in  its  tendency  to  the 
civil  and  religious  liberty  of  the  country,  I  will  submit  the  fol- 
lowing additional  testimony.  The  first  is  from  the  tract  writ- 
ten by  the  Rev.  W.  B.  Evans,  entitled  "  Questions  and  An- 
swers, explanatory  of  the  government  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church." 

"  Ques.  Who  claims  the  right  of  property  in  the  Method- 
ist Episcopal  Church  ? 

"  Ans.  The  travelling  preachers. — (Dis.,  p.  159, 
Ed.  1832.) — (See  also  deed  of  settlement,  and  the  note  at 
the  end  of  said  deed.) 

"  Q.  What  is  the  probable  amount  of  church  property 
thus  claimed  by  the  travelling  preachers  ? 

"  A.  It  is  supposed  that  it  cannot  be  less  than  three  mil- 
lions eight  hundred  thousand  dollars. 

"  Q.  Is  not  this  interest  greatly  augmented  by  the  quar- 
terly and  yearly  collections  ? 

"A.  Yes. 

"  Q.  Have  they  not,  also,  a  large  chartered  fund  and  book 
establishment  under  their  exclusive  control  ? 

"A.  Yes,  they  have  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  a  char- 
tered fund  of  about  thirty  thousand  dollars,  and  in  the  city 
of  New  York,  they  have  a  large  book  establishment,  with  a 
capital  of  from  two  to  five  hundred  thousand  dollars,"  (see 
the  circular  before  quoted,)  "  and  their  periodicals  bring  them 
an  immense  revenue,  one  of  which  is  worth,  perhaps,  forty 
thousand  dollars  per  annum. —  (See  C.  Springer's  Review, 
&c,  pp.  28  and  29. 

"  Q.  Is  not  this  interest  rapidly  increasing  ? 

"  A.  Yes,  great  efforts  are  making  to  extend  the  interest 
of  the  establishment;  hence  it  is  made  the  duty  of  presiding 


CHURCH  PROPERTY. 


125 


elders  and  preachers  to  promote  the  circulation  of  books, 
make  collections,  &c. 

"  Q.  What  is  the  aggregate  amount  of  the  whole? 

"A.  Perhaps  not  less  than  four  millions  three  hun- 
dred AND  SEVENTY  THOUSAND  DOLLARS. 

"  Q.  Does  this  establishment  receive  a  liberal  support 
from  the  members  of  the  church  ? 
"A.  Yes. 

"  Q.  Have  the  members  who  thus  liberally  contribute  their 
support  to  this  establishment,  any  voice  or  control  In  its  man- 
agement or  government  ? 

"  A.  No,  they  have  no  voice,  either  directly  or  indirectly, 
but  it  all  belongs  to  the  travelling  preachers. 

"  Q.  Does  not  the  history  of  the  church  in  past  ages  ad- 
monish us  of  the  danger  of  placing  in  the  hands  of  the  cler- 
gy, and  under  their  exclusive  control,  such  a  vast  amount  of 
wealth  ? 

"  A.  Yes,  but  we  are  slow  to  learn  from  such  examples, 
and  consequently,  they  have  to  be  repeated  again  and  again. " 
—pp.  21  and  22. 

The  following  extracts  are  taken  from  one  of  the  pub- 
lished letters  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Schmucker  before  referred  to: — 

"  '  The  chartered  fund  '  was  established  in  1796,  at  which 
time  the  previously  existing  '  stock  of  the  preachers'  fund' 
was  united  to  it,  and  the  resolution  adopted,  that  the  profits 
of  the  book  concern  should  also  be  thrown  into  this  fund, 
and  the  interest  of  the  whole  be  applied  to  the  preach- 
ers' salary.  That  this  stock  was  profitable  thirty-six  years 
ago,"  (the  Dr.-wrotein  1834,)  "  is  seen  from  the  following 
paragraph  in  the  discipline  of  1797,  (9th  edition.) 

" '  Question. — What  sum  of  money  shall  be  allowed  dis- 
tressed preachers  out  of  the  book  fund  ? 

lit  Answer. — 266^  dollars  annually.' 


126 


CHURCH  PROPERTY. 


"  Subsequently,  but  how  soon,  we  know  not,  the  profits 
of  the  book  concern  were  no  longer  thrown  into  the  charter- 
ed fund,  to  be  on  interest,  but  they  are  now  wholly  applied 
from  year  to  year,  in  making  up  the  preachers'  salaries. 
The  amount  of  the  chartered  fund  alone,  was  in  Jan.  1829, 
$27,000.  The  annual  amount  of  profits  from  the  book  con- 
cern, is,  so  far  as  we  can  learn,  never  officially  published  to 
the  churches;  yet,  from  the  nature  of  the  case,  they  must  be 
very  great.  Of  the  weekly  religious  paper  alone,  upwards  of 
30,000  copies  are  circulated,"  (at  present  the  number  is  pro- 
bably much  greater,)  "  which,  at  $2,00  each,  may,  from  so 
large  an  edition,  yield  a  profit  of  at  least  $30,000  annually. 
Add  to  this,  several  other  periodicals,  the  profits  on  the  doc- 
trinal, practical,  biographical  and  other  works,  published  by 
them.  Every  minister,  is  by  the  discipline,  officially  a  book 
agent,  and  is  bound  to  '  see  that  his  circuit  be  duly  supplied 
with  books,  and  to  take  charge  of  all  the  books  sent  him,' 
&c,  (p.  186,  ed.  1825.)  The  presiding  elders  are  superin- 
tendents of  the  book  business  in  their  district,  &c,  with 
whom  the  preachers  must  settle  their  accounts  annually,  &c. 
(p.  185.)*    In  short,  the  Methodist  itinerants  are  carrying 

*  Since  the  edition  of  the  Discipline  from  which  Dr.  Schmucker  quotes, 
there  appears  to  have  been  some  change  in  the  regulation  of  this  busi- 
ness. In  the  edition  of  1842,  part  II.,  sec.  8,  it  is  said, — "  No  books  shall 
hereafter  be  issued  on  commission,  either  from  New  York,  Cincinnati, 
or  any  other  depository  or  establishment  under  our  direction.  Every  An- 
nual Conference  shall  appoint  a  committee  or  committees,  to  examine 
the  accounts  of  the  presiding  elders,  preachers  and  book  stewards,  in 
their  respective  districts  and  circuits."  And  it  is  added, — "  Every  presid- 
ing elder,  minister,  and  preacher,  shall  do  every  thing  in  his  power  to  re- 
cover all  debts  due  to  the  concern,  and  also  all  books  belonging  to  it,  with- 
in the  bounds  of  his  charge." 

In  the  same  edition  of  the  Discipline,  (J81"2)  chap.  I.,  sec.  5,  it  is  made 
the  duty  of  every  presiding  elder — "  To  oversee  the  spiritual  and  tempo- 
ral business  of  the  church  in  his  district,  and  to  promote,  by  all  proper 


CHURCH  PROPERTY. 


127 


on  an  immense  book  trade,  the  profits  of  which  they  apply  to 
their  own  salary,  and  to  the  support  of  their  widows  and  or- 
phans. It  appears  from  the  following  caution  annexed  to 
the  '  Portraiture  of  Methodism,'  that  their  people  are  admon- 
ished not  to  buy  from  other  booksellers  or  printers,  any  books 
with  which  their  preachers  and  agents  can  furnish  them. 
'  As  the  profits  of  the  above  mentioned  books,  are  for  the 
benefit  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United 
States,  and  to  be  applied  to  religious  purposes,  it  is  recom- 
mended to  the  ministers  and  members  of  said  church  to  pro- 
mote the  sale  of  the  said  books;  and  not  to  purchase  any 
books  which  we  publish  of  any  other  persons,  than  the  afore- 
said D.  Hitt  and  T.  Ware,  and  the  Methodist  ministers,  or 
such  persons  as  sell  them  by  their  consent.'  When  we  re- 
flect, that  the  number  of  preachers  thus  obligated  to  act  as 
agents,  is  upwards  of  1700,''  (now  more  than  double  this 
number,)  "  and  that  the  members  of  the  church,  who  chiefly 
confine  their  custom  to  this  clerical  book  concern,  is  stated 
at  420,000,"  (in  1842,  upwards  of  800,000,  exclusive  of 
coloured  persons,)  "  and  that  this  concern  has  printed  not 
only  Methodist  books,  but  all  such  other  books  as  they  par- 
ticularly desire  their  members  to  read;  every  reflecting  mind 
will  perceive,  that  the  annual  profits  must  be  enormous. 
Now  all  these  profits  the  discipline  expressly  declares,  shall, 
after  retaining  the  necessary  capital,  to  carry  on  the  business, 
be  applied  to  no  other  purpose  than  the  pay  ment  of  the  preach- 
ers' allowance*     The  whole  and  sole  control  of  these 

means,  the  cause  of  missions,  and  Sunday  schools,  and  the  publication,  at 
our  own  press,  of  Bibles,  tracts,  and  Sunday  school  books,  &c."  And  in 
chap.  I.,  sec.  10,  of  the  same  edition,  (1842)  it  is  made  the  duty  of  every 
preacher  who  has  the  charge  of  a  circuit, — "  To  take  care  that  every  so- 
ciety be  duly  supplied  with  books."  ! ! 

*  "  The  profits  arising  from  the  book  concern,  after  a  sufficient  capital 
to  carry  on  the  business,  shall  be  regularly  applied  to  the  support  of  the 
deficient  travelling  preachers  and  their  families,  the  widows  and  orphans 
of  preachers,  &c"— Discipline,  pari  II,  section  8,  edition  1842. 


128 


CHURCH  PROPERTY. 


funds  is  in  the  travelling  preachers,  not  a  single  lay- 
man, or  even  local  preacher  having  either  a  seat  or  vote  at 
the  distribution  of  them." 

The  following  extracts  are  taken  from  an  article,  original- 
ly published  in  the  "  Mutual  Rights,"  and  subsequently  re- 
vised and  inserted  in  Dr.  "  Jennings's  Exposition."  The 
author,  the  Rev.  Geo.  Brown,  was,  at  the  time  he  wrote,  an 
itinerant  preacher  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and 
connected  with  the  Pittsburg  Conference.  His  testimony  is 
important — because  it  shows  how  rapidly  and  alarmingly 
the  power  of  those  who  control  such  an  immense  amount  of 
property,  has  been  in  fact  progressing!    He  says: — 

"  The  forming  a  church  government  which  gives  all  eccle- 
siastical power  to  the  ministry,  was  a  bold  step.  But  bish- 
ops stop  not  here ;  the  creation  of  presiding  elders,  who  are 
the  special  agents  of  the  bishops,  has  given  them  a  degree  of 
power,  over  the  whole  church,  which  really  looks  alarming. 
####  jn  fifty  years,  power  has  marched  farther  in  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church,  than  it  did  in  the  three  first  centu- 
ries of  the  primitive  church. — M.  R.,  vol.  III.,  p.  112. 

"  To  me  it  does  appear  to  be  a  duty,  which  we  owe  to  the 
glorious  author  of  our  holy  religion,  to  our  fellow  Christians, 
and  to  posterity,  to  discuss  this  subject  before  the  whole 
church;  that  the  slumbering  sons  of  ourZion  may  be  roused, 
and  kept  awake,  with  an  attentive  eye  fixed,  on  the  steal- 
ing march  ok  ecclesiastical  power.  We  have  seen 
what  the  Christian  church  was  in  its  origin,  we  have  seen 
what  it  grew  to,  in  process  of  time.  The  people  trusted  too 
much  to  the  goodness  and  infallibility  of  the  ministry;  and 
the  preachers  seeing  this,  took  advantage  of  it,  and  went  on 
increasing  their  own  power,  until  the  church  was  ruined. 
Let  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  take  warning.  The 
wreck  of  one  fallen  church  now  covers  the  world,  and  what 
has  happened  to  the  church  of  Rome,  may  happen  tn  ''S,  if 


CHURCH  PROPERTY. 


129 


we  are  not  careful,  vigilant,  prayerful  and  resolute.'''' — M.  R., 
vol.  HI.,  p.  113. 

"  I  shall  now  sustain  myself,  by  an  induction  of  particulars, 
and  leave  the  community  to  judge,  whether  '  ecclesiastical 
power'  has  been  on  the  'stealing  march,''  backward  or  forward. 

"  1st.  In  1784,  in  the  city  of  Baltimore,  on  Christmas 
day,  at  the  organization  of  the  government  of  the  Method- 
ist Episcopal  Church,  the  itinerant  preachers  did  then,  and 
there,  boldly  march  up  to  a  principle  of  ecclesiastical  polity, 
and  take  it  into  their  safe  keeping,  after  which  the  Roman 
clergy  struggled,  by  trick,  stratagem,  and  pious  fraud,  for 
1160  years,  before  they  laid  their  hands  upon  it,  and  took  it 
into  their  safe  keeping;  and  when  they  got  it,  the  church  was 
ruined.  The  principle  is  this,  namely,  that  to  the  itinerant 
clergy  alone,  does  pertain  of  divine  right,  all  legislative,  judi- 
cial and  executive  power,  over  the  whole  church;  leaving  noth- 
ing to  the  local  preachers  and  the  lay  members,  but  absolute 
submission  to  their  will,  or  expatriation  from  the  church. — 
Their  will  officially  expressed  by  a  delegation  of  one  for  every 
seven  itinerant  ministers,  in  the  General  Conference,  is  now 
the  law  of  the  church,  against  which,  there  is  no  balance  of 
power,  no  check,  or  defence  in  any  way.  A  single  pope  ne- 
ver satin  St.  Peter's  chair  at  Rome,  for  1160  years,  without 
the  elective  voice  of  the  people,  as  may  be  seen  by  an  ap- 
peal to  Mosheim's  and  Gregory's  church  histories;  but  when 
had  our  local  preachers  and  members  a  voice  in  the  election 
of  a  bishop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  ?  Never! 

"  2d.  In  changing  the  title  of  superintendent,  in  1787,  for 
that  of  bishop,  without  the  consent  of  the  American  Confer- 
ence— See  Lee's  'History  of  the  Methodists,'  p.  128:  and 
contrary  to  the  express  instructions  of  Mr.  Wesley — See 
'Moore's  Life  of  Wesley,'  p.  285:  and  when  becoming  an 
independent  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  Doctor  Coke,  Mr. 
17 


130 


CHURCH  PROPERTY. 


Asbury,  and  the  itinerant  preachers,  did  abundantly  strength- 
en themselves  in  the  possession  of  the  power  which  they  had 
assumed  at  the  time  of  the  organization  of  the  government. 

"  3d.  According  to  Lee's  '  History  of  the  Methodists,'  p. 
183,  the  power  to  make  presiding  elders,  which  was  first  as- 
sumed, and  '  used  for  several  years'  without  law,  and  was  fi- 
nally, in  1792,  established  to  the  bishops  by  the  General 
Conference,  gave  them  a  power  over  the  whole  church, 
which  indeed  really  looks  alarming !  No  man  in  his  senses 
will  pretend  that  the  power  of  episcopacy  is  weaker  by  the 
presiding  elder  system.  This  system  renders  the  whole  gov- 
ernment, in  its  practical  operations,  vastly  more  powerful  in 
every  way. 

4th.  In  1 796,  according  to  Lee's  History,  p.  234,  a  '  deed 
of  settlement'  was  got  up,  to  be  carried  into  execution  through- 
out the  whole  connexion,  as  far  as  the  civil  authorities  and 
laws  would  allow.  This  deed  makes  the  property  a  kind  of 
common  stock,  or  at  least,  the  use  of  it  is  made  common  to  all 
the  Methodists  in  every  state  and  in  every  conference.  It  is 
placed  under  the  absolute  legislative  control  of  the 
'  General  Conference  of  ministers  and  preachers,'  for 
the  people  can  only  use  it  according  to  their  legislation.  It 
is  placed  also  under  the  absolute  appointing  power  of  the 
bishops,  who  have  the  power  to  put  the  occupants  into  the 
pulpits  and  parsonages,  without  consulting  any  will  but  their 
own.  Thus,  the  itinerant  clergy,  by  taking  this  anti-christ- 
ian  ho'd  of  the  temporalities  of  the  people,  have  immense 
power  over  them.  By  controlling  the  property,  they  con- 
trol the  people  themselves:  '•for  power  over  a  mart's  sub- 
stance, really  does,  in  most  instances,  amount  to  a  power  over 
his  will.''    Is  this  march  retrograde,  or  onward? 

"  5th.  In  1808,  the  restrictive  instrument,  improperly 
called  a  constitution,  was  formed,  by  which  our  bishops  be- 


CHURCH  PROPERTY. 


131 


came  officers  for  life.  The  General  Conference  became  a 
delegated  body,  and  the  whole  government  was  so  saddled 
upon  the  Methodist  community,  by  the  itinerant  ministry 
alone,  that  no  vital  changes  can  be  effected  or  hoped  for, 
without  the  consent  of  all  the  Annual  Conferences,  and  a 
vote  of  a  majority  of  two-thirds  of  the  subsequent  General 
Conference.  This  the  bishops  can  easily  hinder,  as  they 
hold  all  the  appointing  power,  and  consequently  all  the 
church  livings  in  their  hands.    This  is  onward  too. 

"6th.  In  1S20,  if  I  mistake  not,  our  bishops  became  pen- 
sioned upon  the  book  concern,  at  New  York,  for  all  their  ta- 
ble expenses.  Henceforth,  they  are  not  to  know  want  like 
other  men.  Their  support  is  as  certain  as  that  concern  can 
make  it.  Numbers  have  given  them  power.  Wealth  has 
given  them  power,  for  what  would  a  king  be,  with  all  his  ar- 
bitrary principles  of  government,  without  men  and  money  ? 

"  In  this  induction  of  particulars,  we  think  we  have 
shown  the  stealing  march  of  ecclesiastical  power  in  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church,  to  be  onward,  fearfully  tend- 
ing towards  accumulation.  *-**'*  The  fact  is,  the  princi- 
ples assumed  by  the  itinerant  clergy,  in  the  organization  of 
the  government,  are  without  parallel  in  our  country,  for  this 
tyrannical  character,  and  these  principles,  the  itinerant  clergy 
have  become  amazingly  strengthened  in,  by  their  various 
additions,  and  by  nothing  are  they  more  strengthened,  than 
by  their  firm  grasp  on  church  property,  through  the  me- 
dium of  the  '  deed  of  settlement,'  and  the  constitution,  as  they 
call  it,  of  1808 — this  girds  the  government  fast  upon  the 
people,  and  leaves  them  no  hope,  but  in  ecclesiastical  ex- 
patriation."— Jennings's  Exposition,  chap.  XVIH.,pp.  160 
—162. 

Once  more.  Let  us  hear  the  testimony  of  another  gentle- 
man, the  Rev.  Alexander  McCaine,  who  had  "himself  been 
a  preacher  in  connexion  with  them  for  upwards  of  thirty 


132 


CHURCH  PROPERTY 


years" — and  who,  at  the  time  he  wrote,  was  still  a  minister 
in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. — 

"  To  recapitulate  the  leading  points:  every  one  will  per- 
ceive with  what  rapidity  we  have  advanced  in  our  career  of 
ambition  and  glory;  and  with  what  boldness  the  pretensions 
of  our  bishops  have  been  set  forth  by  themselves  or  their  ad- 
vocates. In  forty  years  we  have  outstript  Rome 
herself,  in  her  march  to  grandeur;  and  it  would  seem,  that 
what  some  writers  have  affirmed  respecting  the  western 
hemisphere,  namely,  that  every  thing  in  America  is  upon  a 
larger  and  grander  scale,  and  that  the  natural  productions 
sooner  arrive  at  maturity  here,  than  on  the  eastern  continent, 
is  to  be  verified  in  our  church  matters  also.  We  began  our 
church  establishment  a  few  years  ago,  and  rested  the  foot  of 
our  ecclesiastical  ladder  upon  Mr.  Wesley's  authority;  but 
his  authority  was  soon  rejected.  The  first  step  of  our  lad- 
der is  the  identity  of  bishops  and  presbyters,  or  two  orders. 
The  second,  '  episcopal  authority,'  with  limitations  and  re- 
strictions. The  third,  three  -distinct  orders.  The  fourth,  a 
'presbyterian  ordination,  and  an  episcopal  ordination  as 
good  as  any  in  the  world.'  The  fifth,  Methodist  bishops, 
1  very  much  resemble'  primitive  evangelists.  The  sixth,  '  di- 
vine authority'  for  episcopal  power.  The  seventh,  a  right 
'  to  overrule  the  spiritual  and  temporal  concerns  of  the 
church.'  The  eighth,  '  divine  right'  to  legislate  for  the 
church  to  the  exclusion  of  local  preachers  and  laymen.  By 
such  steps  have  we  advanced  to  the  ground  we  now  occupy; 
and  time  alone  can  develope  what  other  steps  may  be  added  in 
the  progress  of  the  work.  We  have  no  idea,  however,  that 
the  present  bishops  have  found  a  stopping  place;  nor  that 
they  or  their  successors  will  voluntarily  relinquish  one  parti- 
cle of  their  authority.  Indeed,  we  are  rather  inclined  to 
think,  they  will  still  continue  their  exertions  to  ascend.  And, 
that  what  was  said  of  the  bishops  of  another  church,  may 


CHURCH  PROPERTY. 


133 


be  said  by  the  future  historian  respecting  them. — c  Jt  is  very 
remarkable,  that  of  the  one  hundred  and  fourteen  popes  be- 
tween Boniface  III.,  who  laid  the  foundation  of  the  papal 
grandeur,  and  Gregory  VII.,  who  raised  it  to  the  highest 
pitch,  not  one  ever  lost  an  inch  of  ground  his  predecessor 
had  gained.'  " — His.  and  Mystery,  pp.  57  and  58. 

In  view  of  this  testimony,  and  the  facts  by  which  it  is 
supported,  is  there  no  danger  to  be  apprehended  to  civil  and 
religious  liberty  ?  Let  the  reader  reflect  upon  the  rapid  pro- 
gress which  has  already  been  made  in  ecclesiastical  power, 
and  the  accumulation  of  wealth  by  the  travelling  preachers 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church — let  him  ponder  upon 
the  nature  of  the  government  they  have  established,  and  the 
immense  pecuniary  capital  they  have  already  amassed,  which 
they  wield  without  responsibility  and  for  their  own  exclusive 
profit — let  him  duly  reflect  on  these  things  in  the  light  of  past 
ages,  and  he  cannot  but  feel  that  such  a  system  may  become 
a  tremendous  curse  both  to  the  church  and  the  world  ! 

Now,  contrast  this  system  and  policy  of  Methodism,  with 
the  government  and  institutions  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 
With  us,  the  clergy  have  not  the  slightest  control  over  the 
parochial  property  of  the  people.  Any  Presbyterian  congre- 
gation can  build  a  place  of  worship,  whenever  they  please, 
and  at  whatever  cost  they  choose.  The  deed  is  drawn  ac- 
cording to  their  own  wishes,  and  always  in  the  name  of  the 
particular  congregation  who  expect  to  build  and  pay  for  it. 
As  the  title  is  thus  properly  vested  in  the  congregation,  they 
can  use  it  according  to  their  own  pleasure,  and  dispose  of  it 
at  their  own  will.  If  they  choose  at  any  time  to  secede 
from  the  Presbyterian  denomination,  and  to  unite  with  any 
other,  so  far  as  the  power  of  the  Presbyterian  ministry  is 
concerned,  they  can  do  so,  and  yet  retain  their  parochial  or 
congregational  property.  The  civil  courts,  if  invoked,  might 
interfere  to  protect  the  civil  rights  of  a  minority,  if  such  ex- 


134 


CHURCH  PROPERTY. 


isted,  but  if  the  congregation  were  unanimously  in  favour  of 
the  change,  there  could  be  no  interference,  either  ecclesias- 
tical, or  civil.  The  churches  are  held  by  trustees,  but  the 
people  elect,  from  among  themselves,  whomsoever  they 
please — and  can  re-elect  or  change  them  at  the  expiration  of 
every  year.  These  boards  hold  the  property  for  the  congre- 
gation— not  subject  to  the  "  rules  and  regulations"  which  it 
may  please  the  General  Assembly  to  adopt — but  subject  to 
the  instructions  of  their  constituents,  to  whom  they  are  alone 
-esponsible.  Having  thus  secured  their  house  of  worship, 
the  congregation  are  not  obliged  to  receive  into  their  pulpit 
any  man  whom  the  Presbytery  or  General  Assembly  might 
choose  to  send  as  their  pastor;  they  have  the  inalienable 
right  and  precious  privilege,  as  Christian  freemen,  of  elect- 
ing their  own  spiritual  instructor.  And  having  obtained 
"the  man  of  their  choice,"  as  long  as  the  pastoral  union  is 
mutually  agreeable  to  the  parties,  there  is  no  ecclesiastical 
power  that  can  dissolve  the  sacred  and  endearing  relation. 

With  regard  to  the  general  funds  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church — they  are  all  managed  by  boards  elected  by  the  joint 
vote  of  the  ministers  and  the  representatives  of  the  people. 
These  boards  are  always  composed  in  part  of  laymen, 
and  their  receipts  and  expenditures  are  officially  and  regu- 
larly published.  We  have,  for  example,  a  board  of  publi- 
cation— but  unlike  the  Methodist  book  concern,  the  laity 
have  an  equal  share  in  its  management,  and  its  proceeds  are 
devoted — not  to  the  benefit  of  the  clergy — but  to  the  diffusion 
of  knowledge  and  piety  among  the  people.  We  have  also 
our  boards  of  home  and  foreign  missions,  which  are  design- 
ed to  aid  in  the  support  of  missionaries;  but  these  boards  are 
composed  of  ministers  and  laymen,  and  the  appropriations 
made  by  their  concurrent  vote. — In  short,  there  is  no  institu- 
tion and  no  fund,  belonging  to  the  Presbyterian  Church,  over 
which  her  ministry  have  exclusive  or  irresponsible  control. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 

Extracts  from  the  Discipline. — The  amount  of  their  "  annual  allowance" 
fixed  by  the  Methodist  clergy  themselves. — Their  salary  greater  than 
that  of  the  clergy  of  other  denominations. — Probable  average  amount 
of  the  salary  of  a  country  circuit  preacher, — of  one  stationed  in  a 
large  town  or  city. — Provisions  made  for  the  support  of  supernumera- 
ry and  superannuated  preachers, — for  the  widows  and  orphans  of  de- 
ceased clergymen. — The  amount  of  the  allowance  of  Methodist  minis- 
ters several  times  increased  by  themselves — The  testimony  of  others 
on  these  subjects. — Competent  and  faithful  ministers  entitled  to  a  libe- 
ral support. — The  salary  of  Presbyterian  pastors  regulated  by  the  peo- 
ple.— The  average  amount  of  their  salary  less  than  that  of  the  Method- 
ist preachers. — No  provision  is  made  for  disabled  or  worn  out  Presby- 
terian ministers, — nor  for  their  widows  and  orphans. 

That  no  injustice  may  be  done  to  our  ministerial  brethren 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  on  the  subject  of  their 
pecuniary  support,  and  in  order  that  the  reader  may  have 
the  whole  matter  fully  before  him,  I  will  quote,  in  extenso,  the 
fourth  and  fifth  sections  of  part  II.,  of  the  Methodist  Book 
of  Discipline. — 

"  SECTION  IV. 

"  Of  the  allowance  to  the  ministers  and  preachers,  and  to 
their  wives,  widows,  and  childien. 

"  1.  The  annual  allowance  of  the  married,  travelling,  su- 
pernumerary, and  superannuated  preachers,  and  the  bishops, 
shall  be  two  hundred  dollars,  and  their  travelling  expenses. 


136 


MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 


"2.  The  annual  allowance  of  the  unmarried  travelling, 
supernumerary,  and  superannuated  preachers,  and  bishops, 
shall  be  one  hundred  dollars,  and  their  travelling  expenses. 

"3.  Each  child  of  a  travelling  preacher  or  bishop,  shall 
be  allowed  sixteen  dollars  annually,  to  the  age  of  seven 
years,  and  twenly-four  dollars  annually  from  the  age  of  seven 
to  fourteen  years;  and  those  preachers  whose  wives  are  dead, 
shall  be  allowed  for  each  child  annually,  a  sum  sufficient  to 
pay  the  board  of  such  child  or  children  during  the  above 
term  of  years: — Nevertheless,  this  rule  shall  not  apply  to  the 
children  of  preachers,  whose  families  are  provided  for  by 
other  means  in  their  circuits  respectively. 

"4.  The  annual  allowance  of  the  widows  of  travelling, 
superannuated,  worn-out,  and  supernumerary  preachers,  and 
the  bishops,  shall  be  one  hundred  dollars. 

"  5.  The  orphans  of  travelling,  supernumerary,  superan- 
nuated, and  worn-out  preachers,  and  the  bishops,  shall  be 
allowed  by  the  Annual  Conferences  the  same  sums  respec- 
tively which  are  allowed  to  the  children  of  living  preachers. 
And  on  the  death  of  a  preacher,  leaving  a  child  or  children 
without  so  much  of  worldly  goods  as  should  be  necessary  to 
his,  her,  or  their  support,  the  Annual  Conference  of  which  he 
was  a  member,  shall  raise,  in  such  manner  as  may  be  deemed 
best,  a  yearly  sum  for  the  subsistence  and  education  of  such  or- 
phan child  or  children,  until  he,  she,  or  they,  shall  have  ar- 
rived at  fourteen  years  of  age.  The  amount  of  which  year- 
ly sum  shall  be  fixed  by  a  committee  of  the  conference  at 
each  session  in  advance. 

"  6.  The  more  effectually  to  raise  the  amount  necessary  to 
meet  the  above  mentioned  allowances,  let  there  be  made 
weekly  class  collections  in  all  our  societies  where  it  is  prac- 
ticable; and  also  for  the  support  of  missions  and  missionary 
schools  under  our  care. 


MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 


137 


M  7  Local  preachers  have  an  allowance  in  certain  cases, 
as  mentioned  sec.  IX.,  p.  196. 

"  SECTION  V. 

w  Of  raising  annual  sup-plies  for  the  propagation  of  the  gos- 
pel, making  up  the  allowance  of  the  preachers,  fyc. 

"  1.  Every  preacher  who  has  the  charge  of  a  circuit,  shall 
earnestly  recommend  to  every  class  or  society  in  his  circuit, 
td  raise  a  quarterly  or  annual  collection  by  voluntary  contri- 
bution, or  in  such  other  way  or  manner  as  they  may  judge 
most  expedient  from  time  to  time;  and  the  moneys  so  collect- 
ed, shall  be  lodged  with  the  steward  or  stewards  of  the  cir- 
cuit, to  be  brought  or  sent  to  the  Annual  Conferences,  with 
a  regular  account  of  the  sums  raised  for  this  purpose  in  the 
classes  or  societies  respectively. 

"2.  Wherever  there  remains  in  the  hands  of  the  stewards 
a  surplus  of  the  moneys  raised  for  the  use  of  the  circuit 
preachers,  after  paying  the  allowances  of  the  preachers  in 
the  circuit,  let  such  surplus  be  brought  or  sent  to  the  Annual 
Conference. 

"3.  Every  preacher  who  has  the  charge  of  a  circuit  shall 
make  a  yearly  collection,  and,  if  expedient,  a  quarterly  one, 
in  every  congregation  where  there  is  a  probability  that  the 
people  will  be  willing  to  contribute;  and  the  money  so  col- 
lected shall  be  lodged  in  the  hands  of  the  steward  or  stew- 
ards, and  brought  or  sent  to  the  ensuing  Annual  Conference. 
To  this  end,  he  may  read  and  enlarge  upon  the  following 
hints: — 

"  '  How  shall  we  send  labourers  into  those  parts  where 
they  are  most  of  all  wanted  ?    Many  are  willing  to  hear, 
but  not  to  bear  the  expense.    Nor  can  it  as  yet  be  expected 
18 


138 


MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 


of  them.  Stay  till  the  word  of  God  has  touched  their  hearts, 
and  then  they  will  gladly  provide  for  them  that  preach  it. 
Does  it  not  lie  upon  us,  in  the  mean  time,  to  supply  their 
lack  of  service  ?  To  raise  money  out  of  which,  from  time 
to  time,  that  expense  may  be  defrayed  ?  By  this  means, 
those  who  willingly  offer  themselves  may  travel  through  eve- 
ry part,  whether  there  be  societies  or  not,  and  stay  wherever 
there  is  a  call,  without  being  burdensome  to  any.  Thus  may 
the  gospel,  in  the  life  and  power  thereof,  be  spread  from  sea 
to  sea.  Which  of  you  will  not  rejoice  to  throw  in  your  mite 
to  promote  this  glorious  work  ? 

"  '  Besides  this,  in  carrying  on  so  large  a  work  through 
the  continent,  there  are  calls  for  money  in  various  ways, 
and  we  must  frequently  be  at  a  considerable  expense,  or  the 
work  must  be  at  a  full  stop.  Many,  too,  are  the  occasional 
distresses  of  our  preachers,  or  their  families,  which  require 
an  immediate  supply,  otherwise  their  hands  would  hang 
down,  if  they  were  not  constrained  to  depart  from  the  work. 

"  '  The  money  contributed  will  be  brought  to  the  ensuing 
conference. 

"  '  Men  and  brethren,  help  !  Was  there  ever  a  call  like 
this  since  you  first  heard  the  gospel  sound  !  Help  to  re- 
lieve your  companions  in  the  kingdom  of  Jesus,  who  are 
pressed  above  measure.  Bear  ye  one  another's  burdens,  and 
so  fulfil  the  law  of  Christ.  Help  to  send  forth  able  and  wil- 
ling labourers  into  your  Lord's  harvest:  so  shall  ye  be  assist- 
ants in  saving  souls  from  death,  and  hiding  a  multitude  of 
sins.  Help  to  propagate  the  gospel  of  your  salvation  to  the 
remotest  corners  of  the  earth,  till  the  knowledge  of  our  Lord 
shall  cover  the  land  as  the  waters  cover  the  sea.  So  shall  it 
appear  to  ourselves  and  all  men,  that  we  are  indeed  one  bo- 
dy, united  by  one  spirit;  so  shall  the  baptized  heathens  be  yet 
again  constrained  to  say, '  see  how  these  Christians  love  one 
another  !  ' 


MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 


139 


"  4.  A  public  collection  shall  be  made  at  every  Annual  and 
every  General  Conference,  for  the  above  purposes. 

"5.  Let  the  annual  produce  of  the  charter  funds,  as  divid- 
ed among  the  several  conferences,  be  applied  with  the  above 
contributions:  but  so  as  not  to  militate  against  the  rules  of 
the  charter  fund;  and  also  the  annual  dividend  arising  from 
the  profits  of  the  book  concern.  Out  of  the  moneys  so  col- 
lected, and  brought  to  the  respective  Annual  Conferences, 
let  the  various  allowances  agreed  upon  in  the  fourth  section 
be  made  up;  but  in  no  case  shall  an  allowance  be  made  to 
any  travelling  preacher  who  has  travelled  in  any  circuit  where 
he  might,  in  the  judgment  of  the  Annual  Conference,  have 
obtained  his  full  quarterage,  if  he  had  applied  for  it:  and  if, 
at  any  conference,  there  remain  a  surplus  after  making  up 
all  such  allowances,  the  conference  shall  send  such  surplus 
forward  to  that  conference  they  judge  to  be  the  most  neces- 
sitous. 

"6.  Every  Annual  Conference  has  full  liberty  to  adopt 
and  recommend  such  plans  and  rules  as  to  them  may  appear 
necessary  the  more  effectually  to  raise  supplies  for  the  re- 
spective allowances.  Each  Annual  Conference  is  authorized 
to  raise  a  fund,  if  they  judge  it  proper,  subject  to  its  own 
control,  and  under  such  regulations  as  their  wisdom  may  di- 
rect, for  the  relief  of  the  distressed  travelling,  superannuated, 
and  supernumerary  preachers,  their  wives,  widows,  and  chil- 
dren, as  also  for  missionary  purposes. 

"7.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  each  Annual  Conference  to 
take  measures,  from  year  to  year,  to  raise  moneys  in  every 
circuit  and  station  within  its  bounds,  for  the  relief  of  its  ne- 
cessitous superannuated  and  supernumerary  ministers,  wid- 
ows, and  orphans. — And  the  conference  shall  annually  ap- 
point a  committee  to  estimate  the  several  sums  necessary  to 
be  allowed  for  the  extra  expenses  of  such  necessitous  claim- 


140 


MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 


ants,  who  shall  be  paid  in  proportion  to  the  estimates  made 
and  the  moneys  in  hand. 

"  8.  If  the  respective  allowances  are  not  raised  as  provid- 
ed for,  the  church  shall  not  be  accountable  for  the  deficien- 
cy, as  in  a  case  of  debt. 

"9.  To  defray  the  expenses  of  the  delegates  composing 
the  General  Conference,  a  collection  shall  be  taken  up  in 
each  circuit  and  station,  some  time  previously  to  the  sitting 
of  the  conference,  and  the  sums  so  collected  shall  be  brought 
up  to  the  General  Conference,  and  applied  to  the  object  herein 
contemplated  in  proportion  to  the  expenses  of  the  several 
delegates. 

"  Quest.  What  advice  or  direction  shall  be  given  concern- 
ing the  building  or  renting  of  dwelling  houses  for  the  use  of 
the  married  travelling  preachers? 

"Ans.  It  is  recommended  by  the  General  Conference  to 
the  travelling  preachers,  to  advise  our  friends  in  general  to 
purchase  a  lot  of  ground  in  each  circuit,  and  to  build  a 
preacher'' s  house  thereon,  and  to  furnish  it  with,  at  least,  heavy 
furniture,  and  to  settle  the  same  on  trustees  appointed  by  the 
Quarterly  Meeting  Conference,  according  to  the  deed  of  set- 
tlement published  in  our  form  of  discipline. 

"  2.  The  General  Conference  recommend  to  all  the  cir- 
cuits, in  cases  where  they  are  not  able  to  comply  with  the 
above  request,  to  rent  a  house  for  the  married  preacher  and 
his  family,  (when  such  are  stationed  upon  their  circuits  re- 
spectively,) and  that  the  Annual  Conferences  do  assist  to 
make  up  the  rents  of  such  houses  as  far  as  they  can,  when 
the  circuit  cannot  do  it. 

"  The  stewards  of  each  circuit  and  station  shall  be  a  stand- 
ing committee,  (where  no  trustees  are  constituted  for  that 
purpose,)  to  provide  houses  for  the  families  of  our  married 
preachers,  or  to  assist  the  preachers  to  obtain  houses  for 


MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 


141 


themselves  when  they  are  appointed  to  labour  among 
them. 

"3.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  presiding  elders  and 
preachers  to  use  their  influence  to  carry  the  above  rules  res- 
pecting building  and  renting  houses  for  the  accommodation 
of  preachers  and  their  families  into  effect.  In  order  to  this, 
each  Quarterly  Meeting  Conference  shall  appoint  a  commit- 
tee, (unless  other  measures  have  been  adopted,)  who, 
with  the  advice  and  aid  of  the  preachers  and  presiding  el- 
ders, shall  devise  such  means  as  may  seem  fit  to  raise  mo- 
neys for  that  purpose.  And  it  is  recommended  to  the  Annu- 
al Conferences  to  make  special  inquiry  of  their  members  res- 
pecting this  part  of  their  duty. 

"4.  Those  preachers  who  refuse  to  occupy  the  houses 
which  may  be  provided  for  them  on  the  stations  and  circuits 
where  they  are  from  time  to  time  appointed,  shall  be  allowed 
nothing  for  house  rent,  nor  receive  any  thing  more  than  quar- 
terage for  themselves,  their  wives,  and  children,  and  their 
travelling  expenses.  Nevertheless,  this  rule  shall  not  apply 
to  those  preachers  whose  families  are  either  established  with- 
in the  bounds  of  their  circuits,  or  are  so  situated  that  in  the 
judgment  of  the  stewards,  or  the  above  mentioned  commit- 
tee, it  is  not  necessary,  for  the  benefit  of  the  circuit,  to  re- 
move them. 

"  5.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  said  committee,  or  one 
appointed  for  that  purpose,  who  shall  be  members  of  our 
church,  to  makean  estimate  of  the  amount  necessary  to  fur- 
nish fuel  and  table  expenses  for  the  family  or  families  of 
preachers  stationed  with  them,  and  the  stewards  shall  pro- 
vide, by  such  means  as  they  may  devise,  to  meet  such  ex- 
penses, in  money  or  otherwise:  provided  the  stewards  shall 
not  appropriate  the  moneys  collected  for  the  regular  quarterly 
allowance  of  the  preachers  to  the  payment  of  family  expenses. 


142 


MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 


"6.  There  shall  be  a  meeting  in  every  district,  of  one 
steward  from  each  station  and  circuit,  to  be  selected  from 
among  the  stewards  by  the  Quarterly  Meeting  Conference, 
whose  duty  it  shall  be,  by  and  with  the  advice  of  the  presid- 
ing elder,  (who  shall  preside  in  such  meeting,)  to  take  into 
consideration  the  general  state  of  the  district  in  regard  to 
temporalities,  and  to  furnish  a  house,  fuel,  and  table  expen- 
ses, for  the  presiding  elder,  and  to  apportion  his  entire  claim 
among  the  different  circuits  and  stations  in  the  district  ac- 
cording to  their  several  ability. 

"  7.  Each  Annual  Conference  in  which  a  bishop  or  bishops 
may  reside,  shall  annually  appoint  a  committee  of  three  or 
more,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  estimate  the  amount  necessary 
to  furnish  a  house,  fuel,  and  table  expenses  for  said  bishop  or 
bishops,  and  that  they  be  authorized  to  draw  on  the  funds  of 
the  book  concern  for  said  amount." 

From  the  foregoing  sections  of  the  Discipline,  the  reader 
will  observe  that,  there  is  this  peculiarity  in  the  Methodist 
economy,  viz  ,  that  the  preachers  themselves  fix  the 
amount  of  the  annual  "  allowance"  to  themselves,  their 
wivep,  and  children,  without  consulting  the  people: 
and  this  amount,  as  we  shall  presently  show,  they  have  from 
time  to  time  increased,  according  to  their  own  sovereign  plea- 
sure !  And,  certainly,  if  all  that  they  have  decreed  and  ad- 
vised, be  not  regularly  and  universally  received  by  them,  it 
cannot  be  for  the  want  of  sufficient  clerical  legislation  or 
earnest  recommendation  and  entreaty  !  ! 

It  is  queer — I  will  not  say  suspicious — that  the  salaries  of 
the  ordinary  pastors  and  circuit  preachers,  should  be  so 
mixed  up  with  the  subjects  of  missions  and  mission  schools; 
— and  that  the  various  appropriations  for  the  support  of  the 
preachers,  should  be  stated — not  in  the  same — but  in  differ- 
ent sections  of  the  Discipline.    From  the  manner  in  which 


MINISTERIAL  SLPPORT. 


143 


these  different  subjects  are  mingled,  it  is  almost  impossible 
to  tell,  for  what  specific  object  some  of  the  collections  are 
to  be  made,  or  in  what  proportion  they  are  to  be  distributed 
among  the  several  objects  mentioned.  And  from  the  scatter- 
ed items  of  ministerial  support,  it  requires  a  considerable 
degree  of  attention  to  ascertain  them  all.  For  instance,  if 
the  reader  examines  "Section  IV.,"  he  might  readily  sup- 
pose from  its  title — "  Of  the  allowance  to  the  ministers  and 
preachers,  and  to  their  wives,  widows,  and  children" — (hat 
all  the  items  are  there  enumerated.  But  this  would  be  a 
great  mistake.  For,  in  the  next  section — although  it  pro- 
fesses only  to  speak  "  Of  the  raising  annual  supplies  for  the 
propagation  of  the  gospel,  making  up  the  allowance  of  the 
preachers,"  &c. — there  are  several  additional  items  stated  ; 
— and  these  are  nothing  less  than  "  House  rent— furniture — 
fuel — and  table  expenses''''  !  !  This  matter,  moreover,  is  so 
arranged,  that  it  is  not  possible  for  the  public  to  ascertain, 
from  the  book,  what  all  these  items,  in  the  aggregate,  actu- 
ally amount  to.  All  that  we  can  do,  therefore,  is  to  gather 
the  items  together  and  give  a  probable  estimate  of  their  val- 
ue, of  the  correctness  of  which  the  reader  must  judge  for 
himself. 

I  will  first  enumerate  the  different  items  included  in  the 
salary  of  a  Methodist  preacher  who  has  a  family. 

1.  He  is  allowed,  annually,  for  himself  and  wife,  two 
hundred  dollars. — Section  IV.  sub.  sec.  1. 

2.  His  travelling  expenses. — lb. 

3.  For  each  child,  to  the  age  of  seven  years,  sixteen  dol- 
lars annually  ;  and  twenty-four  dollars  annually,  from  the 
age  of  seven  to  fourteen  years. — lb.  sub  sec.  3. 

4.  House  rent. — Sec.  V.,  sub  sections  I  and2. 

5.  At  least,  heavy  furniture. — lb.,  sub  sec.  1. 

6.  Fuel. — lb.,  sub.  sec.  5. 

7.  Table  expenses. — lb. 


144 


MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 


It  appears,  therefore,  that  in  addition  to  the  amount  which 
they  annually  receive  for  themselves,  their  wives,  their  chil- 
dren, and  their  travelling  expenses, — which  is  regulated  ex- 
clusively and  irresponsibly  by  themselves, — they  have  made 
it  the  duty  of  the  people  to  raise  an  amount  sufficient  for 
their  fuel  and  table  expenses;  and  have  advised  them,  either 
to  build  them  parsonages,  or  to  rent  dwellings  for  their 
accommodation,  and  to  furnish  them  with,  at  least,  heavy 
furniture. 

I  will  now  give  an  estimate  of  the  total  sum  which  a  Meth- 
odist circuit  preacher,  with  a  wife  and  five  children,  two 
above  and  three  under  seven  years  of  age,  annually  receives, 
or  is  allowed  by  the  discipline  of  his  church  to  receive. 
This  calculation,  be  it  remembered,  is  made  for  a  country 
circuit — and  that  it  may  be  as  fair  and  as  accurate  as  possi- 
ble, I  will  take  the  average  of  three  published  estimates  that 
I  have  met  with,  from  gentlemen  of  different  denominations. 
Annual  allowance  for  himself  and  wife,  .  .  $200,00 
For  two  children  above  seven  years  of  age, 

each  $24,   48,00 

For  three  children  under  seven,  each  $16,  .  48.00 
For  house  rent,  and  the  use  of  heavy  furni- 
ture, probably,  about   55,00 

For  table  expenses,  and  fuel,  probably,  about  283,66 
Travelling  expenses,  probably,  about      .    .  30,00 

$664,66 

The  above  estimate  is  made,  as  I  have  stated,  for  a  coun- 
try circuit : — the  sum  total,  for  a  station  in  a  town  or  large 
city,  must  be  much  greater,  as  in  them,  house  rent,  fuel,  and 
provisions,  are  so  much  more  expensive. 

I  endeavoured — but  in  vain — to  ascertain  the  precise 
amount  of  the  salaries  of  the  Methodist  preachers  stationed 
in  this  city  (Baltimore)  for  the  last  five  or  six  years.  I 


MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 


J  45 


called  on  "  A  Methodist"  and  requested  him  to  furnish  me 
with  this  information  ;  but  he  declared  that  he  could  not  give 
it,  and  referred  me  to  another  gentleman — an  official  and 
active  member  of  their  church.  On  this  gentleman  I  ac- 
cordingly waited,  and  in  making  the  same  request,  assured 
him  that  I  wished  to  state  nothing  but  the  truth — and  that  if 
he  would  obtain  the  information  for  me,  I  would  publish  it 
just  as  received.  He  appeared  to  be  perfectly  willing-— 
promised  that  he  would  procure  the  desired  intelligence — 
and  in  the  course  of  the  conversation  stated,  that  the  pastor 
of  Light  street  church  received  a  salary  of  twelve  hundred 
dollars,  ($1200,00)  exclusive  of  house  rent ;  but  added,  that 
they  gave  him  two  hundred  dollars  more  than  they  otherwise 
would,  because,  from  his  central  location,  he  was  obliged  to 
entertain  an  unusual  number  of  clerical  visitors.*  After 
waiting  a  sufficient  time,  I  wrote  the  gentleman  a  note,  re- 
questing him  to  send  me  the  result  of  his  inquiries,  agreeably 
to  his  promise.  Instead  of  doing  this,  he  informed  the 
bearer,  that  since  he  understood  that  I  intended  to  continue 
the  controversy,  he  must  decline  giving  the  information  de- 
sired; and  that,  when  he  made  the  promise,  he  supposed  that 
the  facts,  if  communicated  to  me  privately,  would  be  seen  to 
be  of  such  a  character  as  to  render  any  farther  controversy 
unnecessary !  ! !  Now,  not  to  insist  that,  at  the  time  he  made 
the  promise,  he  was  distinctly  told  that  I  intended  to  make  a 
public  use  of  the  facts, — I  will  ask, — if  the  information 
would  be  so  decisively  favourable  to  Methodism,  why  not 
give  it  ? — Would  it  be  withheld  if  it  were  so  ?  Let  the  pub- 
lic judge.  I  mention  these  circumstances  to  show,  that  I 
was  not  only  willing,  but  desirous  of  publishing  their  own 
statement,  if  it  could  have  been  procured. 

*  This  conversation  took  place  last  fall— 1842. 
19 


146 


MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 


In  the  absence,  therefore,  of  official  and  precise  accounts, 
we  can  only  give  an  estimate  of  the  probable  amount  of  the 
salaries  of  the  Methodist  preachers  stationed  in  the  large 
cities. 

The  only  detailed  estimate,  relating  to  cities,  that  I  have 
met  with,  gives  the  sum  total  of  $1596,00.  That  calcula- 
tion, however,  appears  to  have  been  made  for  the  city  of 
New  York,  where  the  cost  of  living  is  unusually  high: — in 
the  following  estimate,  /  have  deducted  nearly  fifty  per  cent. 
from  the  aggregate  amount  of  the  items  of  travelling  expen- 
ses, house  rent,  fuel,  and  table  expenses — which  is  certain- 
ly a  very  liberal  reduction  !    Thus: — 

Annual  allowance  for  himself  and  wife,    .    .  $200,00 
For  two  children  above  the  age  of  seven 

years,   48,00 

For  three  children  under  seven  years,  .  .  48,00 
For  travelling  expenses,  probably  about  .  30,00 
For  house  rent  and  the  use  of  heavy  furni- 


The  above  is,  I  suppose,  a  fair  estimate  of  the  average 
salary  of  a  Methodist  preacher,  with  such  a  family,  in  one  of 
our  large  cities.  No  doubt  some  of  them  receive  more,  and 
some  less — and  I  presume  that,  the  amount  varies,  according 
to  the  cost  of  living  in  different  places,  and  as  "prices"  are 
elevated  or  depressed.  From  the  statement  of  the  gentle- 
man before  referred  to,  it  appears  that  the  salary  of  one  of 
their  pastors,  in  this  city,  during  the  past  year,  was  $1200,00, 
exclusive  of  his  house  rent,  which,  if  included,  would  make 
his  salary  equal  to  about  fifteen  hundred  dollars  per 
annum.    If  from  this,  we  deduct  $200,00,  the  additional 


ture,   

For  fuel  and  table  expenses, 


250,00 
400,00 


$976,00 


MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 


147 


sum  said  to  be  given  for  the  entertainment  of  strangers,  it 
would  still  leave  one  thousand  dollars,  exclusive  of  house 
rent, — which  is  two  hundred  and  seventy-four  dollars  more 
than  the  amount  which  I  have  given  above  as  the  probable 
average  of  their  salaries,  exclusive  of  house  rent.  In  other 
words,  the  estimate  of  their  average  salary  which  I  have 
given,  is  less,  by  four  hundred  and  seventy-four  dollars, 
than  the  amount  said  to  be  actually  received  by  the  pastor  of 
one  of  their  churches  in  this  city. 

With  the  items,  however,  before  him  let  the  reader  judge 
for  himself : — And  if  he  has  any  knowledge  of  the  genteel 
manner  in  which  the  Methodist  pastors  live,  and  any  person- 
al experience  of  the  cost  of  house-keeping,  let  him  say 
whether  he  could  honestly  support  himself,  a  wife,  and  five 
children,  in  such  a  style  and  in  such  a  city  as  this,  for  much 
less  than  the  average  sum  I  have  mentioned  ! 

It  is  probable  that  the  salaries  of  the  Methodist  pastors,  in 
our  principal  cities,  are  not  as  large  as  those  of  the  pastors 
of  some  other  churches,  but  the  number  stationed  in  these  is 
comparatively  small,  and  they  are  not  allowed,  according  to 
the  discipline,  "  to  remain  in  the  same  station  more  than 
two  years  successively." — Chap.  I.,  sec.  4.  That  the  com- 
pensation of  those  of  them,  who  are  stationed  in  the  coun- 
try, is  greater  than  that  of  the  pastors  of  other  churches, 
similarly  located,  there  can  be  no  doubt.  And  when  a  gen- 
eral comparison  is  drawn,  between  the  support  of  the  Meth- 
odist clergy,  and  that  of  the  ministry  of  other  denomina- 
tions,—the  reference  is  not  to  an  insignificant  number  of 
them,  or  to  a  few  places, — but  to  the  whole  body,  and  the 
entire  country. 

In  addition  to  the  foregoing  provisions,  for  the  support  of 
those  preachers  who  are  actively  engaged  in  fulfilling  their 


148 


MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 


appointments,  there  are  others  mentioned  in  the  discipline, 
for  the  support  of  such  ministers  as  are  unemployed,  disabled, 
or  superannuated;  as  also  for  the  widows  and  orphans  of  de- 
ceased clergymen. 

If,  for  example,  there  are  more  preachers  than  places,  the 
Book  provides,  that  all  "  supernumeraries"  together  with 
their  wives,  shall  receive  the  same  monied  allowance  as  those 
who  are  actively  fulfilling  appointments. — Part  II.,  sec.  4. 

If  they  are  "  worn-out,'''1  or  "  superannuated"  they  and 
their  wives  continue  to  receive  the  same  monied  allowance 
as  if  they  were  still  actively  and  regularly  employed. — lb. 
So  that,  if  a  Methodist  preacher  is  disabled  from  preaching 
after  being  but  a  few  months  in  the  service,  the  allowance  is 
continued,  both  to  himself,  and  his  wife,  as  long  as  they  live 
— it  may  be  for  half  a  century. 

And  if,, in  any  case,  the  salary  of  the  travelling  preachers 
and  the  monied  allowance  of  the  supernumerary,  disabled, 
and  superannuated  ministers,  should  not  prove  sufficient,  it 
is  made  the  duty  of  the  Annual  Conference  to  provide  fur- 
ther and  immediate  relief. — "  Many,  too,  are  the  occasion- 
al distresses  of  our  preachers,  or  their  families,  which  re- 
quire an  immediate  supply,  otherwise  their  hands  would 
hang  down,  if  they  were  not  constrained  to  depart  from  the 
work." — Dis.,  part  II.,  sec.  5.— And  again — "  It  shall  be 
the  duty  of  each  Annual  Conference  to  take  measures,  from 
year  to  year,  to  raise  moneys  in  every  circuit  and  station 
within  its  bounds,  for  the  relief  of  its  necessitous,  superan- 
nuated and  supernumerary  ministers,  widows  and  orphans. 
And  the  conference  shall  annually  appoint  a  committee  to 
estimate  the  several  sums  necessary  to  be  allowed  for  the  ex- 
tra expenses  of  such  necessitous  claimants,  who  shall  be 
paid  in  proportion  to  the  estimates  made  and  the  moneys  in 
hand."— 76. 


MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 


149 


With  regard  to  the  widows  and  orphans  of  their  deceased 
clergy,  it  is  provided: — "  The  annual  allowance  of  the  wid- 
ows of  travelling,  superannuated,  worn-out,  and  supernume- 
rary preachers,  and  the  bishops,  shall  be  one  hundred  dollars. 
The  orphans  of  travelling,  supernumerary,  superannuted,  and 
worn-out  preachers,  and  the  bishops,  shall  be  allowed  by  the 
Annual  Conferences  the  same  sums  respectively  which  are 
allowed  to  the  children  of  living  preachers." — lb. 

If  on  the  death  of  a  preacher,  it  should  appear  that  the 
above  allowance,  with  what  he  may  have  bequeathed  to 
them,  is  not  sufficient  for  the  support  and  education  of  his 
orphans,  the  Book  further  provides, — that  "the  Annual  Con- 
ference of  which  he  was  a  member,  shall  raise,  in  such  man- 
ner as  may  be  deemed  best,  a  yearly  sum  for  the  subsistence 
and  education  of  such  orphan  child  or  children,  until  he,  she, 
or  they,  shall  have  arrived  at  fourteen  years  of  age.  The 
amount  of  which  yearly  sum  shall  be  fixed  by  a  committee 
of  the  conference  at  each  session  in  advance." — lb.  That 
is,  no  matter  how  large  a  fortune  a  Methodist  preacher  may 
leave  behind  him,  his  widow  and  orphans  are  entitled  to  re- 
ceive the  allowances  previously  mentioned; — but,  if  he  dies 
poor,  in  addition  to  such  allowances,  this  part  of  the  dis- 
cipline provides,  that  the  conference  shall  raise,  if  necessa- 
ry, an  extra  sum,  sufficient  for  the  "  subsistence  and  educa- 
tion" of  his  children. — How  disingenuous,  therefore,  it  is  to 
say — that  the  poor  widow  of  a  Methodist  preacher  receives 
only  one  hundred  dollars  annually  for  herself,  sixteen  dollars 
for  each  child  under  seven  years  of  age,  and  twenty-four 
dollars  for  each  child  above  seven  years — when  it  is  express- 
ly provided  that,  if  more  be  necessary  for  the  "subsistence 
and  education"  of  the  children,  the  conference  shall  annually 
raise  it ! 


150 


MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 


And  if  with  all  these  liberal  provisions  for  their  widows 
and  orphans,  there  should  be  any  "  occasional"  distresses 
among  them,  we  have  already  shown  that  the  Book  makes  it 
the  duty  of  the  Conference  to  afford  them  immediate  relief. 
— Sec.  5,  sub.  sec.  7. 

Thus  it  appears,  from  their  own  showing,  that  the  Method- 
ist preachers  have  amply  provided  for  the  support  of  them- 
selves and  families,  not  only  whilst  actively  engaged  in 
preaching  the  gospel,  but  also  towards  their  subsistence  in 
sickness  and  old  age — and  even  while  "  supernumeraries  I  " 
And  that  they  have  likewise  made  very  liberal  provision  for 
their  wives  and  children,  after  their  death.  We  may  safely 
and  confidently  affirm,  that  there  is  no  body  of  clergy  in  this 
country,  who  receive,  while  living,  so  ample  a  support;  or 
whose  families,  after  their  decease,  are  so  liberally  provided 
for. 

I  have  already  remarked,  that  the  usual  and  definite  provi- 
sions which  are  made  for  the  support  of  the  Methodist 
preachers  and  their  families,  during  their  life,  and,  after  their 
decease,  of  their  widows  and  orphans,  were  fixed  and  are 
appropriated  by  themselves,  without  the  voice  or  concur- 
rence of  the  laity.  And  so  the  additional  appropriations  for 
the  relielf  of  the  preachers  and  their  families  "occasionally 
distressed,"  and  the  "  extra"  allowance  for  the  "  subsist- 
ence and  education"  of  the  orphans  of  deceased  poor  min- 
isters, are  estimated  and  appropriated  by  the  Conference 
alone  or  a  committee  appointed  by  them  from  their  own  cleri- 
cal body. 

It  appears,  also,  that  they  have,  from  time  to  time,  increas- 
ed their  "  monied  allowance,"  by  simply  voting  among  them- 
selves that  it  should  be  increased  !  !  And  if,  at  any  future 
time,  they  should  judge  the  present  sum  inadequate,  and 


MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 


151 


should  be  of  the  opinion  that  their  financial  resources  would 
justify  a  further  increase,  they  would  have  nothing  to  do,  ac- 
cording to  their  form  of  government  and  their  past  practice, 
but  pass  a  resolution  in  their  General  Conference  to  raise 
their  salaries,  and  their  salaries  would  be  raised  !  !  !  Prior 
to  the  year  1800,  the  annual  "  money  allowance"  of  a 
preacher  and  his  wife  was  $128, 00, — then  it  was  increased 
to  $160,00, — and  since  then  it  has  been  increased  to 
$200,00. — And,  from  time  to  time,  other  and  valuable  pro- 
visions have  been  "  agreed  upon  !"  by  them,  for  the  benefit 
of  themselves  and  families — their  widows  and  orphans.  As 
a  specimen  of  their  method  of  proceeding,  take  the  follow- 
ing extracts  from  Lee's  History,  chap.  X.,  pp.  267  and  269. 
— "At  this  conference  it  was  agreed  to  raise  the  allowance 
of  the  travelling  preachers,  &c,  *  four  dollars  in  each  quar- 
ter; which  will  amount  to  $80,00  per  year,  instead  of  sixty- 
four.  We  also  agreed  to  make  some  allowance  for  the 
children  of  preachers,  and  for  orphans.  ****  Until  this  time 
our  preachers  were  to  give  an  account  of  all  the  private  gifts 
they  received,  whether  it  were  money,  clothing,  or  any  thing 
else,  towards  their  support;  and  it  was  to  go  in  part  of  their 
quarterage,  or  else  it  was  to  be  applied  to  make  up  the  defi- 
ciencies of  the  other  preachers  at  the  next  conference.  At 
this  conference  it  was  agreed,  the  preacher  might  receive  any 
present,  and  not  give  an  account  thereof." 

It  has  been  said,  however,  that  the  Methodist  preachers 
do  not  in  general  receive  the  full  amount  of  their  salaries. 
This,  if  true,  would  be  no  more  than  what  might  be  said  of 
every  othep  body  of  protestant  clergy  in  the  land — for  very 

*Th\set  cetera  refers  to  the  superannuated, worn-out,  and  supernumerary 
preachers,  the  wives  of  all  the  preachers,  and  their  widows — the  annual 
allowance  of  each  being  increased  in  the  same  ratio. 


152 


MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 


many  of  them  do  not  receive  the  nominal  amount  which  is 
promised  them,  though  this  nominal  amount  is,  in  most 
cases,  much  less  than  the  nominal  value  of  the  various  pro- 
visions made  for  the  support  of  the  Methodist  preachers  as 
stated  in  their  Book  of  Discipline.  But  we  have  reason  to 
believe  that,  in  general,  the  Methodist  clergy  do  receive  the 
full  amount — or  nearly  the  full  amount — prescribed  in  the 
discipline,  and  that  the  exceptions,  if  any,  are  comparative- 
ly few.  We  may  not  only  infer  this  from  their  peculiar 
method  of  "  raising  supplies,"  and  from  the  number  and  vast- 
ness  of  their  financial  resources, — but  we  have  the  direct  testi- 
mony of  those  who  were  once  themselves  "  itinerants,"  and 
who  therefore  testify  from  personal  knowledge.  As  to  the 
suggestion  of  "  A  Methodist,"  that  the  nominal  amount  fix- 
ed by  the  Discipline  is  intended  merely  as  "  a  standard  by 
which  the  overplus  and  deficiency  may  be  regulated" — we 
inquire — if  this  were  so,  why  was  the  amount  increased  ? 
— If  it  were  intended  merely  as  a  nominal  standard,  $80,00 
would  have  answered  that  purpose  as  well  as  $100,00 — or 
$64,00  as  well  as  $80,00  !  !  The  very  fact,  therefore,  that 
the  amount  has  been  from  time  to  time  increased,  is  suffi- 
cient proof  that  it  is  generally  received: — and  even  with 
respect  to  the  exceptions,  they  may  be  relieved  under  the 
head  of  "  occasional  distresses,"  which,  in  the  language  of 
the  Discipline,  "require  an  immediate  supply,  otherwise  their 
hands  would  hang  down,  if  they  were  not  constrained  to  de- 
part from  the  work." 

Having  thus  exhibited,  from  the  discipline  of  the  Method- 
ist Episcopal  Church,  the  various  provisions  which  are  made 
for  the  support  of  their  ministers  and  families,  and  expressed 
my  own  opinion  upon  them  in  detail;  I  will  now  cite  the  pub- 
lished opinions  of  others  in  confirmation  of  the  correctness 
of  my  views. 


MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 


163 


The  Rev.  Dr.  Schmucker,  of  the  Lutheran  Church,  in 
the  letters  to  which  I  have  previously  referred,  thus  writes: — 

"In  a  recent  work,  termed  'Popular  Theology,'  I  felt  it 
a  duty  when  discussing  the  different  modes  of  ministerial 
support  in  Europe  and  America,  to  mention  also  that  of  the 
Methodist  Church.  I  have  known  many  members  of  the 
Lutheran,  Reformed,  and  Presbyterian  Churches,  who  light- 
ly esteemed  their  own  pastors,  because  they  had  been  stig- 
matized as  money  preachers  by  some  disingenuous  circuit 
rider,  who  was  himself  receiving  a  larger  salary  than  they. 
I  therefore  deemed  it  a  duty,  not  indeed  to  '  misrepresent'  the 
Methodist  system,  but  to  let  the  truth  be  known.  In  order 
to  commit  no  error,  I  quoted  the  very  words  of  the  discip- 
line, referring  to  the  page  and  section,  and  even  specifying 
the  edition  contained  in  my  library,  that  of  1825;  and  omit- 
ting nothing  which  I  found  on  this  subject.  The  relevant 
passages  in  the  discipline  are  the  following:" — (these  I  omit 
because  they  have  been  already  quoted,  see  pp.  135 — 142.) 

"  Now,  let  it  be  remembered,"  continues  Dr.  Schumcker, 
"  that  these  are  literal  extracts  from  the  discipline,  and  are 
all  that  I  find  on  the  amount  and  contingencies  of  ministe- 
rial salary.  Take  an  average  case,  say  a  minister  with  a 
wife  and  five  children,  two  above  and  three  under  seven 
years,  and  what  is  his  salary  at  the  above  rates  ?  The  table 
expenses,  that  is,  provisions  of  every  kind  to  board  the  fami- 
ly, omitting  the  youngest  child,  at  the  rate  of  $1,00  per 
week  amounts  to  $312;  house  rent  $60;  travelling  expenses 
to  conference  and  on  his  circuit  $25;  the  additional  allow- 
ance for  himself,  wife  and  children,  $296;  in  all  $693.  If 
his  family  is  larger,  his  salary  increases,  if  smaller,  it  is  di- 
minished in  the  same  ratio.  If  he  keep  domestics,  their 
boarding  is  found.  If  provisions  rise  in  value,  or  he  reside 
in  a  city,  he  loses  nothing,  his  salary  rises  with  it.  An  indi- 
20 


154 


MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 


vidual  minister  in  a  neighbouring  city,  I  am  credibly  inform- 
ed, receives  $1000  in  money,  for  his  table  expenses  and 
house  rent  alone,  besides  all  the  other  allowances  above 
detailed  !  I  will  not  say  it  is  too  much,  but  merely  state 
the  fact  as  an  example  of  the  rise  of  table  expenses  and 
house  rent.  Now,  what  denomination  of  Christians  is 
there  in  our  land,  whose  ministers  generally  would  not  glad- 
ly accept  this  provision?  Especially,  as  the  prospect  of  re- 
ceiving the  amount  promised,  is  probably  at  least  as  good  as 
in  other  churches.  If  the  salary  promised  to  other  ministers, 
is  not  made  up  by  the  congregation,  they  loose  it  all.  But 
if  all  the  collections  and  subscriptions,  public  and  private, 
by  the  minister,  and  by  the  steward,  (which  the  Discipline 
says,  sometimes  overrun  the  above  allowance)  do  not  togeth- 
er amount  to  his  salary,  he  reports  the  deficiency  to  the  An- 
nual Conference,  and  receives  from  other  funds,  either  the 
whole  or  part  of  it,  as  the  dividend  for  that  year  may  allow. 
Besides  all  this,  says  the  discipline,  '  there  are  many  occa- 
sional distresses  of  our  preachers  or  their  families ,  which  re- 
quire' additional  allowance,  '  lest  their  hands  hang  down,'  or 
they  be  'constrained  to  depart  from  the  work.'  Again,  if 
the  above  minister  becomes  disabled,  even  in  the  first  year 
of  his  ministry,  his  own  allowance  runs  on  for  life,  and  for 
six  months'  service,  he  may  possibly  receive  his  salary  for 
twenty  or  forty  years.  And  not  only  his  own  salary  thus 
runs  on,  but  after  four  years  from  his  reception  as  a  preach- 
er, the  allowance  of  his  wife  also  runs  on  for  life,  even  if  he 
is  disabled  from  preaching.  And  finally,  on  his  death,  his 
wife  receives  the  same  sum  as  before,  and  his  children  16 
dollars  each,  as  near  as  the  funds  will  admit." — (At  present, 
as  the  Dr.  himself  observed  in  a  subsequent  letter,  after  see- 
ing a  later  edition  of  the  Discipline, — the  orphans  are  allow- 
ed "  the  same  sums  respectively  which  are  allowed  to  the 
children  of  living  preachers" — and  if  left  poor,  any  addi- 


MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 


155 


tional  sum  that  may  be  deemed,  by  a  committee  of  confer- 
ence, necessary  for  their  "subsistence  and  education." — 
Dis.,ed.  1842,  part  II.,  sec.  4.)  "  These  Jellow  citizens," 
continues  the  Dr.,  "  are  the  explicit  provisions  made  by  the 
travelling  preachers,  in  the  discipline,  in  behalf  of  them- 
selves; for  let  it  not  be  forgotten,  that  the  local  preacher, 
however  faithful  or  able,  receives  not  a  cent.  The  itinerants, 
who  engross  all  the  legislative  power  of  the  wbole  church, 
have  thought  best  to  keep  all  the  money  to  themselves;  thus 
pronouncing  the  services  of  local  preachers  undeserving  of 
any  reward,  also  both  them  and  all  lay  members  unworthy  of 
a  seat  or  vote  in  their  legislative  judicatories.  And  now 
the  question  arises,  whether  the  very  few  remarks  upon  this 
system  in  my  book  are  misrepresentations.  I  have  there 
said,  p.  194,  '  the  support  of  Methodist  ministers  we  regard 
as  a  lull  competency,  and  have  only  often  been  surprised,  that 
they  should  still  complain  of  its  insufficiency,  especially  as 
its  provisions  very  justly  extend  to  sickness,  to  old  age,  to 
widows  and  orphans.'  Whether  calling  their  allowance  a 
full  competency  misrepresents  the  discipline,  judge  ye.  One 
thing  I  am  certain  of,  that  a  very  large  number  of  able,  faith- 
ful pastors  of  other  churches  would  be  glad  to  accept  this 
mode  of  support;  because  the  amount  promised  is  greater,  and 
the  prospect  of  getting  it  better,  than  in  the  average  cases  of 
most,  if  not  all  other  churches.  **** 

"  And  what,  if  in  some  poor  stations,  or  in  better  stations 
under  some  unpopular  preacher,  all  their  collections  at  quar- 
terly meetings,  and  camp  meetings,  and  subscriptions  to  the 
preacher  and  steward,  together  with  his  allowance  from  the 
general  fund,  do  not  amount  to  his  fixed  salary,  yea,  fall  far 
short  of  it;  these  cases  are  exceptions,  and  the  discipline  must 
be  supposed  to  represent  the  general  rule.  And  do  not  min- 
isters in  every  other  church  often  fail  to  receive  the  full 


156 


MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 


amount  of  their  stipulated  salary  ?  even  when  that  sum  is 
far  less  than  the  above  ?  How  many  receive  but  half  the 
amount  of  their  unavoidable  expenses,  and  must  either  la- 
bour or  teach  school  to  aid  in  defraying  them,  or  be  involv- 
ed in  bankruptcy?  But  if  such  an  extreme  case  occurs  to 
a  Methodist  preacher,  is  he  left  to  struggle  with  his  fate  and 
trust  to  Providence  for  deliverance  ? — No,  for  lo  !  it  is  writ- 
ten in  the  discipline,  that,  1  lest  his  hands  fall,'  or  '  he  depart 
from  the  work,'  an  immediate  supply  is  required  for  this'  oc- 
casional distress.'  Is  this,  perhaps,  the  meaning  of  that 
phrase,  in  general  so  differently  understood,  that  a  Method- 
ist minister  is  not  permitted  to  go  in  debt?  How  happy 
would  many  other  ministers  be,  to  be  robbed  in  the  same 
manner  of  that  liberty?  To  be  compelled  to  do  a  cash  bu- 
siness, and  in  case  of  absolute  inability,  to  meet  unavoidable 
demands,  be  able  to  refer  to  the  clause  of  the  Discipline 
on  1  occasional  distresses  !'  In  short,  many  sensible  mem- 
bers of  the  Methodist  Church  are  but  imperfectly  acquainted 
with  that  complicated  system  of  finance,  by  which  their  tra- 
velling preachers  secure  to  themselves  a  substantial  indepen- 
dence for  life.  **** 

u  Now,  let  it  be  remembered,  that  of  all  these  various  and 
seasonable  provisions,  copied  literally  from  the  discipline  it- 
self, my  book  utters  no  censure,  but  merely  dares  to  pro- 
nounce them  a  full  competency.  And  what  tradesman,  what 
farmer,  what  man  of  reasonable  expectations  in  any  business, 
would  not  consider  them  in  the  same  light?  It  is  worthy 
of  remark,  too,  that  the  Methodist  travelling  preachers,  who 
possess  the  exclusive  power  of  fixing  the  amount  of  their 
own  allowance  (lay  members  having  merely  the  privilege  of 
paying  the  money  by  direct  subscriptions,  or  in  profits  on 
books,)  have  evinced  no  backwardness  in  legislating  on  the 
subject.    Their  table  provisions,  house  rent,  and  travelling 


MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 


157 


expenses,  they  may,  for  aught  we  know,  have  allowed  them- 
selves from  the  beginning;  yet  their  additional  monicd  al- 
lowance for  themselves  and  wives,  has  severed  times  been  en- 
larged, but  never  diminished.  Of  the  precise  amount,  we 
are  not  absolutely  certain,  but  state  on  the  authority  of  one  of 
the  principal  members  of  that  church  in  this  place,  that  it 
was  first  $64  each,  then  $80,  and  now  we  know  it  is  $100." 
(See  quotation  from  Lee's  History,  p.  151.)  "  If  this  al- 
lowance were  merely  nominal,  they  would  not  have  raised  it. 
But  this  is  far  from  being  the  case.  And  even  the  collection 
of  it  is  not  accompanied  with  the  same  trouble  as  in  other 
churches  generally,  a  large  portion  of  it  being  derived  from 
general  funds.  What  they  do  receive,  is  settled  within  the 
year,  and  their  dividend  for  the  deficiency,  if  any,  they  re- 
ceive at  the  conference  which  terminates  the  year;  whilst 
the  ministers  of  other  denominations  must  often  wait,  two, 
three,  or  more  years,  for  a  considerable  portion  of  what  they 
do  receive.  Who  ever  heard  of  a  case  in  the  Methodist 
Church,  similar  to  the  following,  mentioned  in  the  '  North 
American  Review:'  A  country  parish  in  New  Hampshire, 
proposed  to  their  pastor  to  raise  his  salary  from  $250  to 
$300.  '  Spare  me,  my  Christian  friends,'  replied  the  wor- 
thy man,  '  it  is  a  weary  burden  to  collect  $250;  I  should  be 
worn  to  death  by  trying  to  scramble  together  $300.' 

"  We  will  now  take  leave  of  this  topic,"  continues  Dr. 
Schmucker,  "  by  introducing  the  testimony  of  a  Methodist 
minister,  who  knew  all  about  the  system  from  personal  ob- 
servation and  experience.  This  letter  is  taken  from  the  New 
Haven  '  Religious  Intelligencer,''  (for  1833,  p.  793,)  one  of 
the  most  respectable  and  authentic  periodicals  in  America, 
and  the  minister's  name  was  publicly  offered  by  Mr.  Whit- 
ing, the  editor,  if  applied  for: 

" '  Mr.  Whiting — 1  have  read  your  paper  of  the  18th  of 
January,  on  the  support  of  the  ministry.    The  following  re- 


158 


MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT? 


marks  and  facts  are  at  your  disposal,  to  use  as  you  may  think 
proper.  I  should  wish  to  observe,  that  I  myself  was  brought 
up  a  Methodist,  and  my  parents  are  to  this  hour  members  of 
that  society.  I  have  also  been  a  preacher  in  that  denomina- 
tion a  number  of  years.    In  the  year  ,  for  reasons  which 

it  will  not  be  profitable  to  mention  here,  I  thought  it  my  du- 
ty to  request  a  dismission  from  that  body,  with  a  certificate 
of  my  standing,  for  the  purpose  of  connecting  myself  with 
the  Congregational  or  Presbyterian  churches.  As  there  was 
nothing  against  my  religious  and  moral  character,  I  was  ac- 
cordingly dismissed;  and  united  myself  to  a  respectable  as- 
sociation of  Congregational  ministers  in  New  England. 
Soon  after  this,  I  had  a  call  to  settle  with  the  church  and 
congregation  of  which  I  am  now  pastor.  From  this  state- 
ment, you  will  easily  conclude,  that  I  must  be  well  acquaint- 
ed with  the  doctrine  and  discipline  of  the  Methodists.  It 
is  with  the  utmost  satisfaction  I  come  forward,  unsolicited 
by  any  mortal,  to  bear  testimony  to  the  truth  of  your  state- 
ments, as  it  respects  the  salaries  of  Methodist  preachers. 
To  the  honor  of  the  Methodists,  I  can  say,  I  always  receiv- 
ed my  salary  with  great  punctuality,  and  uniformly  met  with 
the  utmost  kindness  from  them.'  ["Here,"  says  Dr.  S., 
"  he  enters  into  calculations,  which  I  omit,  because  they  are 
exactly  like  those  in  my  former  communication,  excepting 
that  he  actually  received  $4,00  a  week  boarding  for  himself 
and  wife,  whilst  I  put  them  at  $2."]  'As  it  respects  their  not 
getting  what  the  discipline  allows,  it  is  true,  this  may  be  the 
case  in  some  few  cases;  but  without  any  reflection  on  the 
Methodist  preachers  as  a  body,  most  of  those  men  are  of 
that  class,  who  would  get  far  less  in  almost  any  other  situa- 
tion, and  especially  as  ministers  of  religion.  I  have  made 
the  proposal  several  times  to  my  society,  to  place  my  salary 
on  the  plan  of  the  Methodist  discipline.'  ["  Here,"  says 
Dr.  S.,  "he  compares  his  salary  with  what  it  would  be  in 


MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 


159 


the  Methodist  Church,  and  finds  that  for  himself,  wife,  four 
children  and  1  boarding  for  a  servant  maid,'  his  salary,  by 
the  discipline,  would  be  raised  $28,  and  the  house  rent! ';] 
1  That  the  respectable  Methodist  preachers  do  get  their  sala- 
ries, is  a  fact  which  we  cannot  doubt.  I  can  at  any  time 
bring  forward  cases,  in  which  Methodist  preachers  have  re- 
ceived the  notes  of  the  circuit  stewards  on  interest  for  the 
balance  of  their  salary  for  the  year,  in  cases  where  it  has  not 
been  promptly  paid.  That  the  Methodists  do  support  their 
ministers,  and  have  made  ample  provision  for  the  same,  is 
perfectly  clear;  and  it  is  the  disgrace  of  many  of  our  socie- 
ties, that  they  do  not  consider  the  subject  sufficiently.'  " 

I  will  now  cite  the  opinion  of  the  Rev.  W.  Annan,  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  and  the  reader  will  observe,  that  his 
estimate  of  the  average  salary  of  the  Methodist  preachers, 
is  less  than  Dr.  Schmucker's,  and  considerably  less  than  that 
of  the  writer,  whom  I  shall  subsequently  quote.  And  I  cite 
the  opinion  of  Mr.  Annan,  chiefly,  that  the  reader  may  have 
before  him  each  of  the  three  estimates,  the  average  of  which 
I  have  given  on  page  144. 

"  it  is  the  deliberate  conviction  of  our  mind,"  says  Mr. 
Annan,  "  after  a  pretty  careful  examination,  that  in  relation 
to  this  matter,  the  preachers  of  Methodism  are  dealt  with 
more  generously  (or  rather  have  provided  for  themselves  more 
liberally)  than  the  ministers  of  any  other  branch  of  the  Ame- 
rican church.  In  this,  they  have  only  practised  upon  the 
principle  avowed  by  the  founder  of  their  system.  '  I  know,' 
says  Wesley,  (works,  vol.  I.,  p.  78,)  'the  spiritual  labourer 
is  worthy  of  his  reward;  and  that  if  we  sow  to  our  flock 
spiritual  things,  it  is  meet  that  we  reap  of  their  carnal 
things:  I  do  not  therefore  blame,  no,  not  in  any  degree,  a 
ministers  taking  a  yearly  salary.''  It  is  true,  the  impres- 
sion is  often  made,  that  whilst  the  ministers  of  other  denomi- 


160 


MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 


nations  are  abundantly  paid  for  their  labours,  the  Methodist 
preachers  not  only  receive  no  pecuniary  compensation,  but 
indignantly  spurn  the  thought,  as  degrading  them  down  to  a 
level  with  hireling  priests.  Whether  this  impression  is  in- 
tentionally left  upon  the  minds  of  the  people,  we  know  not; 
we  only  state  the  fact.  It  should  be  kept  in  mind,  moreo- 
ver, that  when  we  speak  of  the  compensation  of  Methodist 
preachers,  we  mean  the  travelling  preachers  and  circuit  riders; 
the  local  preacher  receives  no  pay  by  the  rules  of  the  discip- 
line, except  when  he  'fills  the  place  of  the  travelling  preacher.' 

"  Let  us  now  examine  what  provision  is  made  in  the 
Book  of  Discipline  for  remunerating  the  travelling  ministry 
for  their  toils,  always  bearing  in  mind,  that  be  it  scant  or  libe- 
ral, it  is  precisely  what  these  preachers  have  legislated  into 
their  own  pockets;  and  that  at  their  pleasure,  it  may  be  in- 
creased to  any  practicable  extent,  without  consulting  the 
people  who  pay  it."  [Here  follow  the  several  items  from  the 
discipline,  which  have  been  already  stated.] 

"  Thus  far  the  discipline.  Now  let  us  sum  up.  We  will 
take  an  average  case,  say  a  preacher  with  a  wife  and  five 
children,  two  above  and  three  under  seven  years  of  age.  The 
account  will  stand  as  follows: 

Annual  allowance  to  the  preacher,    .    .    .  $100,00 
do         do    to  the  preacher's  wife,    .    .  100,00 
Two  children  above  seven,  $24  each,    .    .  48,00 
Three  children  under  seven,  $16  each,    .    .  48,00 
Table  expenses,  or  boarding,  at  75  cents  each 
per  week,  for  six  persons,  omitting  the 
youngest  child,  and  omitting  domestics,  .  234.00 

House  rent,   45,00 

Travelling  expenses  to  the  conference,  &c,  25,00 


$600,00 


MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 


161 


"  This  allowance  of  six  hundred  dollars  is  greatly  increas- 
ed, if  the  preacher's  family  numbers  eight  or  ten.  And  should 
he  become  disabled  by  accident  or  infirmity,  the  allowance  is 
continued  to  him  and  his  children,  even  though  he  should  be 
laid  aside  in  the  early  part  of  his  ministry;  so  that  for  a  few 
years',  or  weeks',  or  days'  service,  he  and  his  family  may  re* 
ceive  their  allowance  for  half  a  century.  And  when  he 
goes  to  rest  from  his  labours,  he  has  the  consolation  of  know* 
ing  that  his  widow  and  children  will  not  be  cast  upon  the 
cold  charity  of  an  unfeeling  world,  but  will  be  provided  With 
a  very  respectable  annual  allowance.  Well  may  we  inquire 
with  Dr.  Schmucker,  '  what  denomination  of  Christians  is 
there  in  our  land,  whose  ministers  would  not  gladly  accept 
this  provision  ?' 

"  Nothing  but  the  necessity  of  defending  ourselves  against 
the  ungenerous  assaults  of  our  adversaries,  would  constrain 
us  to  enter  into  these  minute  calculations.  Since,  however^ 
they  have  provoked  the  discussion,  we  esteem  it  to  be  out 
duty  to  let  the  Christian  public  know  the  whole  truth* 
It  should  be  remembered,  therefore,  that  the  foregoing  esti- 
mates are  made  for  a  region  of  country  where  the  ordinary 
salaries  of  the  ministers  of  other  denominations  rate  from 
$400  to  $500 — rarely  above  the  latter  sum,  except  in  a  few 
instances  in  large  and  expensive  villages,  and  their  vicinity; 
and  often  less  than  the  former  amount — $400.  With  what 
shadow  of  truth  or  justice,  then,  are  these  men  denounced 
by  the  '  preachers,'  whose  allowance  by  their  own  Discipline, 
is  considerably  larger?  This  their  most  zealous  advocates 
are  compelled  to  admit.  The  Discipline  moreover,  is  the 
handy  work  of  the  preachers  exclusively.  This  sum,  there- 
fore, ($600,)  is  the  annual  compensation  which  they  have 
ordained  to  be  due  for  their  ministerial  services.  This  is  the 
sum  they  will  receive,  if  they  can  get  it,  and  which  they  have 
21 


162 


MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 


passed  the  requisite  laws  to  secure,  provided  the  people  will 
submit  to  be  taxed  to  this  amount.  What  then  becomes  of 
their  voluntary  poverty  ?  Ought  they  not  to  blush  for  the 
outcry  which  they  have  raised  respecting  the  large  salaries  of 
the  clergy  of  other  branches  of  the  church  ?  Is  it  fair,  is  it 
honest,  to  indulge  in  harsh  reflections  and  taunting  insinua- 
tions against  ministers  who  do  not  receive,  in  numberless 
instances,  so  large  a  salary  as  Methodist  preachers  have  de- 
creed to  be  not  too  large  a  sum  for  a  clergyman  with  a  certain 
family  ? 

"  In  confirmation  of  the  above  estimate,  the  Rev.  R.  S. 
Storrs,  in  a  letter  to  the  editor  of  the  '  Home  Missionary,' 
speaking  of  Lower  Canada,  writes  as  follows:  4  The  salary 
of  the  Methodist  ministers  is  fixed  at  one  hundred. guineas 
per  annum,  with  a  furnished  dwelling  house;  and  thirty 
guineas  are  added  when  there  are  three  children;  and  ten 
guineas  more  on  the  addition  of  each  child  to  the  family.' 
So  that  a  preacher  with  four  children,  would  receive  one 
hundred  and  forty  guineas,  which,  with  a  furnished  dwelling 
house,  would  be  worth  between  seven  and  eight  hundred  dol- 
lars. And  yet  Mr.  Storrs  says,  '  the  expense  of  living  in 
Canada  is  comparatively  small.' 

"We  are  not  sufficiently  in  possession  of  the  facts  to 
form  a  detailed  estimate  for  our  largest  sized  towns  and  ci- 
ties. The  following  statements  however,  will  afford  a  clue 
to  explain  how  these  matters  are  managed  there.  In  the 
trial  of  an  action  for  libel  in  New  York,  brought  by  Azor 
Hoyt  against  Rev.  Messrs.  Waugh,  Emory,  Bangs  and  J. 
Collard, — Rev.  Mr.  Durbin  (now  president  of  Dickinson 
College)  testified  as  follows:  '  My  salary  is  twelve  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars  annually;  that  of  Mr.  Bangs,  I  think,  fifteen 
hundred  or  upwards — that  of  Mr.  Merritt,  about  twelve  hun- 
dred— that  of  Mr.  Waugh,  sixteen  hundred — that  of  Mr. 


MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 


163 


Mason  is,  I  think,  over  one  thousand  and  under  fifteen  hun- 
dred dollars.''  Now,  whether  it  is  understood  that  besides 
this  monied  compensation,  these  gentlemen  receive  a  fur- 
nished house,  rent  free,  table  expenses,  &c,  according  to 
the  discipline,  we  are  not  informed.  If  so,  the  foregoing 
sums  would  be  swelled  to  a  very  handsome  remuneration  for 
their  toils.*  **** 

"  In  conclusion:  If  such  be  the  poverty  of  the  ministry 
of  Methodism,  I  presume  there  are  but  few  who,  in  relation 
to  themselves,  would  refuse  to  write  upon  it,  ' perpetua  esto 
Six  or  seven  hundred  dollars  secured  in  compensation  of  la- 
bours, for  the  right  performance  of  which  there  has  not  been 
any  preparatory  expenditure  worthy  of  notice,  is  no  mean  pro- 
vision for  the  good  things  of  this  life.  In  most  other  denomi- 
nations, the  intended  minister  is  required  to  pass  through  a 
course  of  training,  from  seven  to  twelve  years  in  duration, 
in  which  he  must  expend  a  small  estate  before  he  can  enter 
upon  the  duties  of  his  profession;  and  if,  in  the  providence 
of  God,  he  is  disabled  by  disease  or  accident  after  the  few 
first  years  or  weeks  of  his  ministry,  he  must  resign  his 
charge,  and  of  course  his  means  of  subsistence,  to  some 
more  favoured  occupant.  Not  so  the  preacher  of  Method- 
ism. After  the  expiration  of  the  few  first  years  or  weeks  of 
his  ministry,  even  though  reduced  by  the  visitation  of  Hea- 
ven to  a  state  of  utter  helplessness,  he  is  entitled  to  a  clear 
income  for  himself  and  wife  of  two  hundred  dollars,  or  the 
interest  of  three  thousand  three  hundred  and  thirty  three  dol- 
lars; and  his  children  are  also  provided  for.    It  may  be  ques- 

*  From  the  largeness  of  the  sums  mentioned,  I  suppose  that  their  "  ta- 
ble expenses"  were  included  in  them;  but  it  is  highly  probable  that  the}' 
were  accommodated  with  dwelling  houses  rent  free — and  as  rents  are  ve- 
ry high  id  New  York,  this  alone  would  greatly  swell  the  amount  of  their 
actual  salaries. 


164 


MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 


tioned  whether  any  man,  minister  or  layman,  would  be  con- 
sidered far  from  the  pathway  of  wealth,  who,  in  four  years> 
or  as  it  may  be,  in  four  days,  with  scarce  any  previous  ex- 
penditure, and  with  no  risk  of  pecuniary  loss,  could  realize 
an  annual  income  of  equal  magnitude.  And  should  the 
preacher  survive  for  fifty  years  in  a  state  of  incapacity,  and 
his  wife  be  also  spared,  they  will  be  entitled  to  draw  the 
sum  of  ten  thousand  dollars,  besides  the  support  of  their  chil- 
dren."— Difficulties  of  Arminian  Methodism,  letter  V11L,  p. 
283,  #c. 

I  will  now  cite  the  opinion  of  an  able  writer,  who  publish- 
ed a  series  of  articles  on  Methodism,  in  1834,  in  the 
M  Christian  Intelligencer''  of  New  York — the  organ  of  the 
Protestant  Reformed  Dutch  Church.  The  following  extracts 
are  taken  from  No.  VI.,  entitled  "  The  salaries  which  the  dif- 
ferent grades  of  ministers  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
are  called  to  receive. 

In  regard  to  the  temporal  economy  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  our  limits  will  allow  us  to  notice  only  the 
most  important  facts.  It  shall  be  our  aim  to  state  these  facts 
fairly  as  they  appear  in  the  Book  of  Discipline. 

The  first  fact  to  be  observed  is,  that  the  buildings  erect- 
ed and  occupied  as  Methodist  Episcopal  meeting  houses, 
with  their  appendages,  belong  in  no  instance  to  the  people  of 
the  several  congregations;  but  every  meeting  house,  in  the 
United  States,  belongs  to  the  General  Conference.  #*  # 

"  The  next  particular  to  be  noticed,  is  the  allowed  sala- 
ries of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  itinerant  preachers.  '  The 
annual  allowance  of  the  travelling  preachers,  shall  be  one 
hundred  dollars  and  their  travelling  expenses.'  This  is  small 
enough  to  satisfy  the  scruples  of  the  most  jealous  hater  of 
clerical  salaries.  But  it  is  written  also  in  the  Book  of  Dis- 
cipline, that  '  the  annual  allowance  of  the  wives  of  travel-. 


MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 


165 


ling  preachers  shall  be  one  hundred  dollars.'  Surely  it  is  no 
more  than  right  that  the  wife  of  a  travelling  preacher  who  is 
bone  of  his  bone  and  flesh  of  his  flesh,  should  be  provided 
for  as  well  as  himself.  '  Each  child  of  a  travelling  preach- 
er shall  be  allowed  sixteen  dollars  annually  to  the  age  of 
seven  years,  and  twenty-four  dollars  annually  from  the  age 
of  seven  to  fourteen  years.'  In  another  part  of  the  Book 
of  Discipline,  it  is  made  the  duty  of  the  people  in  each  cir- 
cuit or  station,  to  provide  the  preacher  with  a  house,  and  '  to 
furnish  it,  at  least,  with  heavy  furniture.'  A  Methodist 
Episcopal  travelling  preacher  and  his  wife  and  children  can- 
not live  comfortably,  without  a  house  to  shelter  them,  and 
heavy  furniture  to  use,  more  readily  than  preachers  of  other 
sects  and  their  families.  It  is  also  made  the  duty  of  a  cer- 
tain committee,  to  estimate  the  amount  necessary  to  pay  for 
the  fuel  or  fire-wood  and  the  table  expenses  of  the  preach- 
er's family;  and  the  duty  of  the  stewards  to  provide  the  esti- 
mated amount,  in  money  or  otherwise,  by  such  means  as 
they  may  devise.  A  Methodist  Episcopal  itinerant  preacher 
and  the  members  of  his  family,  have  '  eyes,  organs  and  di- 
mensions,' as  well  as  preachers  of  other  sects  and  their  fami- 
lies. They  are  '  fed  with  the  same  kind  of  food,  hurt  with 
the  same  weapons,  subject  to  the  same  diseases,  warmed  by 
the  same  summer,  and  cooled  by  the  same  winter,'  as 
preachers  of  other  sects  and  their  families.  And  since  they 
have  found  all  this  to  be  true,  it  is  not  wonderful  that  the 
General  Conference  has  passed  a  law  making  it  the  duty  of 
the  people  to  provide  them  with  fuel,  and  to  defray  their  ta- 
ble expenses.  Suppose,  then,  the  case  of  a  married  preach- 
er with  two  children,  from  seven  to  fourteen  years  of  age, 
and  three  children  under  seven  years  of  age, — his  annual  al- 
lowance amounts  to  two  hundred  and  ninety-six  dollars.  If 
such  a  man  can  be  supplied,  in  addition  to  this,  with  a 


166 


MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 


house,  and  with  half  his  household  furniture,  and  with  fuel, 
and  with  what  will  meet  his  table  expenses,  and  with  his 
travelling  expenses  as  he  rides  round  his  circuit,  or  journeys 
to  the  conferences;  and  if  he  can  receive,  besides,  the  little 
and  occasional  free-will  offerings  of  his  people;  and  if  his 
people  will  sometimes  go  round  into  congregations  of  other 
denominations  and  beg  for  him;  how  much  is  his  living  worth 
in  money?  Certainly,  it  is  worth  not  less,  but  more  than 
the  average  salary  of  all  the  Reformed  Dutch,  Presbyterian, 
and  Congregational  ministers  in  the  United  States.  Certain- 
ly there  are  very  many  Reformed  Dutch,  Presbyterian,  and 
Congregational  ministers,  who  would  gladly  exchange  their 
salaries  for  the  support  of  Methodist  Episcopal  circuit 
preachers.  Certainly,  very  few  Reformed  Dutch,  Presbyte- 
rian, and  Congregational  societies  would  undertake  to  pay 
their  pastors  at  the  rate  of  the  allowance  and  perquisites  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  travelling  clergy.  But  the  items 
already  enumerated,  are  not  the  whole.  Let  the  itinerant 
preacher  hold  on  till  he  is  superannuated,  or  worn-out,  and 
he  is  still  entitled  to  receive,  whether  rich  or  poor,  one  hun- 
dred dollars  annually  for  himself ;  and  if  he  has  a  wife,  one 
hundred  dollars  annually  for  her.  When  he  dies,  whether  in 
early  life  or  old  in  years,  whether  independent  or  insolvent, 
he  leaves  to  his  widow  and  his  orphans,  a  right  to  draw  the 
same  allowance  which  he  might  have  drawn  for  them  had 
he  lived.  It  is  also  made  the  duty  of  the  Annual  Confer- 
ence to  '  raise  in  such  manner  as  may  be  deemed  best,  a  year- 
ly sum  for  the  subsistence  and  education  of  such  orphan 
child,  or  children,'  as  may  be  left  entirely  destitute  by  a  de- 
ceased member  of  the  Annual  Conference,  '  until  he,  she,  or 
they,  shall  have  arrived  at  fourteen  years  of  age.  The 
amount  of  which  yearly  sum  shall  be  fixed  by  a  committee 
of  the  conference  at  each  session,  in  advance.'  "How  much 


MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 


167 


would  it  be  worth  to  a  Reformed  Dutch,  Presbyterian,  or 
Congregational  preacher,  if,  instead  of  being  called  to  trust 
implicitly  in  '  the  God  of  the  widow  and  the  Father  of  the 
fatherless,'  he  might  enjoy  the  assurance  that  his  wife  and 
children,  in  case  of  his  removal,  should  be  partakers  in  some 
such  tangible  provision  against  want  ? 

"  Let  us  endeavour  to  make  a  fair  estimate  of  the  total 
sum  which  a  circuit  preacher  with  a  wife  and  two  children 
from  seven  to  fourteen  years  of  age,  and  three  under  seven 
years,  annually  receives,  or  is  allowed  by  the  Book  of  Dis- 
cipline to  receive. 

"  Allowed  to  receive  for  himself,    ....  $100,00 


For  his  wife,  100,00 

For  two  children  from  seven  to  fourteen  years 

of  age,   48,00 

For  three  children  under  seven  years  of  age,  48,00 
For  travelling  expenses,  probably,  about     .  40,00 
For  house  rent  and  the  use  of  '  heavy  furni- 
ture, probably,  about   GO, 00 

For  fuel,  probably,  about   40,00 

For  table  expenses,  estimated  by  a  commit- 
tee, (one  member  with  which  we  are  ac- 
quainted,) a  few  years  since,  at  about    .  265,00 


Total  sum,  .  $701,00 
"  In  this  statement  we  have  omitted  to  mention,  that  a 
circuit  preacher  in  riding  round  his  circuit  is  absent  from  his 
family  a  great  part  of  his  time,  and  necessarily  obtains  his 
boarding  and  horse  keeping  amongst  his  people,  free  of  ex- 
pense to  himself.  If  these  items  were  taken  into  the  account, 
they  would  swell  his  allowed  salary,  to  at  least,  eight  hun- 
dred dollars. 


168 


MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 


"  Suppose  that  a  Methodist  Episcopal  itinerant  preacher 
with  the  same  number  of  persons  in  his  family,  and  of  the 
same  ages  as  we  have  supposed  in  the  above  calculation, 
should  be  stationed  by  the  bishop  in  one  of  our  large  cities; 
and  what  would  he  annually  receive,  or  be  allowed  by  the 
Book  of  Discipline  to  receive  ? 

"  Allowed  to  receive  for  himself,  ....  $100,00 


For  his  wife,   100,00 

For  two  children  from  seven  to  fourteen  years 

of  age,   48,00 

For  three  children  under  seven  years  of  age,  48,00 
For  travelling  expenses  :  in  a  large  city,  the 
hire  or  the  keeping  of  a  horse,  to  enable 
him  to  perform  his  journeys,  would  proba- 
bly cost,   125,00 

For  house  rent,  and  the  use  of  '  heavy  furni- 
ture,' in  alarge  city,  they  would,  probably, 

be  worth,   700,00 

For  fuel,  probably,   100,00 

For  table  expenses,  probably,   375,00 


Total  sum,     .  $1596,00 
"  '  The  preachers  in  the  city  of  New  York,  in  the  year 
1821,  received  as  follows: 

"  '  A.  Hunt,  $750;  S.  Merwin,  847;  L.  Clark,  816;  B. 
Hibbard,  763;  J.  Spicer,  564.— Total,  $3,750,  exclusive  of 
house  rent,  which  may  be  called  at  the  lowest,  $1,260,  mak- 
ing $5000  for  five  preachers.' — New  York  Telescope.  Mut. 
Rights  and  Chris.  In.,  April  20,  1830  p.  158."  [The  sub- 
sequent increase  of  house  rent,  &c,  in  New  York,  would  of 
course,  greatly  swell  these  amounts  and  make  the  average 
probably  about  as  stated  above.] 


MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 


169 


"  The  Methodist  Episcopal  bishops  are  allowed  to  receive 
their  salaries  annually  from  '  the  funds  of  the  book  concern.' 
Their  salaries  must  be  paid  out  of  these  funds  before  any 
part  of  them  are  appropriated  to  pay  the  salaries  of  the  itin- 
erant preachers;  of  course,  the  bishops  are  sure  of  receiving 
their  money,  whether  any  be  left  for  the  travelling  preachers 
or  not.  '  The  book  agents,  and  the  book  committee  in  New 
York,'  are  constituted  a  committee  '  to  estimate  the  amount 
necessary  to  meet  the  family  expenses  of  the  bishops;'  and 
if  the  bishops  can  make  it  appear  that  their  reasonable  fami- 
ly expenses  amount  to  one,  two,  three,  or  four  thousand  dol- 
lars per  annum,  there  is  nothing  in  the  Book  of  Discipline  to 
prohibit  their  receiving  as  much;  for  there  are  no  limits  pre- 
scribed to  their  salaries. 

"  It  may,  perhaps,  be  said  by  the  people  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  that  their  itinerant  preachers  do  not  gen- 
erally receive  as  large  salaries  as  the  Book  of  Discipline  al- 
lows them  to  receive,  because  they  are  unable  to  obtain 
them  from  their  societies.  Admitting  this  to  be  true,  still 
the  case  is  not  materially  altered;  for  the  fact  remains,  that 
they  hold  to  the  principle  of  receiving  the  full  amount  of  their 
salaries  as  allowed  them  by  the  Book  of  Discipline.  The  same 
plea  might  be  urged  by  many  of  the  ministers  of  the  Reformed 
Dutch,  Presbyterian,  and  Congregational  Churches.  It  is, 
perhaps,  not  exceeding  the  bounds  of  truth,  to  state  that  one 
third  of  them  do  not  obtain  the  whole  of  their  stipulated 
salaries,  from  the  inability  of  their  people  to  pay  them.  Re- 
formed Dutch,  Presbyterian,  and  Congregational  ministers, 
however,  are  destitute  of  resources  similar  to  those  of  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  preachers,  when  their  societies  fail  to  furnish 
their  salaries.  It  is  a  matter  of  trifling  importance  with  a 
Methodist  Episcopal  itinerant  preacher  when  his  people  fail 
in  giving  him  what  the  Book  of  Discipline  allows,  so  long 
22 


170 


MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 


as  he  can  be  a  sharer  in  the  income  proceeding  from  what 
are  called  1  the  chartered  fund'  and  '  the  book  concern.' 
The  income  arising  from  which  must  be  very  great." 

I  will  now  introduce  the  testimony  of  Methodist  preach- 
ers themselves — men  who  had  been,  for  many  years,  in  the 
ministry  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  who  there- 
fore had,  from  personal  experience  and  observation,  the  very 
best  opportunities  of  knowing  the  truth  on  this  subject. 
In  "  The  Mutual  Rights,"  &c,  vol.  I.,  p.  237,  they  say:— • 
"  We  take  the  minutes  of  the  year  1823,  and  find  there 
are  1226  travelling  preachers;  of  these  we  will  suppose  one 
half  to  be  married,  and  each  married  preacher  to  have,  on 
an  average,  two  children,  one  over  seven  years,  and  the  other 
under.  The  whole  number  of  married  preachers  will  be 
613,  and  the  number  of  single  preachers  the  same.  We 
will  not  undertake  to  say  what  number  is  stationed  in  towns 
and  cities,  but  suppose  there  may  be  one  hundred.  If  we 
allow  one  third  of  this  number  to  be  married  men,  (and  sure- 
ly this  is  a  very  low  calculation)  we  shall  have  33  men  with 
their  families,  and  67  single  men  to  fill  the  city  stations;  all 
the  rest  are  appointed  to  circuits.  We  shall  allowr  no  dis- 
count for  those  who  are  stationed  in  towns,  because  we  be- 
lieve they  get  their  full  quarterage.  The  account  then  will 
stand  as  follows: 

33  married  men  and  their  families,  at  $800 
per  annum,  including  all  expenses  for 
quarterage,  table  expenses,  house  rent, 
fuel,  travelling  expenses,  &c,  $26400,00 

67  single  men,  at  $260  per  annum,  includ- 
ing quarterage,  boarding,  travelling  ex- 
penses, &c,  17420,00 


Amount  carried  forward, 


$43820,00 


MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 


171 


Amount  carried  forward,  $43820,00 

580  married  men  on  circuits,  at  $100,  $58000,00 

580  wives,  at  do.,                   100  68000,00 

580  children  over  7  years,  at       24  13920,00 

5S0    do    under  7  years,  at        16  9280,00 


$139200,00 


Discount  at  50  per  cent,  is 
Board  of  580  men,  at  $2  per  week, 
Ditto  of  580  wives,  at  $2  per  week, 
Ditto  of  1160  children,  at  $1  per 
week, 

House  rent  and  fuel,  $75  per  an- 
num, 

Travelling  expenses,  $12  per  an- 
num, 

546  single,  at  $100, 

Discount  on  this  sum  at  50  per 
cent.,  is 

Boarding  at  $2  per  week  each, 

Travelling  expenses  at  $12  per  an- 
num each, 

Keeping  1126  horses  at  $1  per 
week  each, 


54600,00 


69600,00 
60320,00 
60320,00 

60320,00 

43500,00 

6960,00 

27300,00 
56784,00 

6552,00 

58552,00 


$494028,00 

"  Note.  In  all  our  estimates,  we  have  wished  to  be  under, 
rather  than  over  the  true  sum." 

According  to  the  above  statement,  when  the  number  of 
itinerant  preachers  was  only  1226,  and  with  the  deduction 
of  50  per  cent,  on  the  "  quarterage"  of  all  the  circuit  preach- 
ers, and  allowing  only  two  children  to  each  married  preach- 
er, the  annual  expense  of  their  support  was  four  hundred 


172  MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 

and  ninety-four  thousand  and  twenty-eight  dollars: — being 
an  average  (with  the  discount  mentioned,  and  allowing  only 
two  children  to  each)  of  $583,32  for  every  married  preach- 
er— and,  with  the  same  discount,  an  average  of  $222,59 
for  every  single  preacher.  Without  the  discount,  the  total 
sum  for  the  support  of  1226  preachers,  would  be  five  hun- 
dred and  ninety  thousand  nine  hundred  and  twenty-eight 
dollars: — being  an  average  of  $696,86  for  each  married 
preacher,  with  a  wife  and  only  two  children; — and  $267,12 
for  every  single  preacher. 

According  to  these  gentlemen,  the  average  salary  of  a 
Methodist  preacher,  with  a  wife  and  two  children,  one  under 
and  one  over  seven  years  of  age,  "  stationed  in  towns  and 


cities,1"  is   $800,00 

Add  the  allowance  for  two  more  children  un- 
der 7  years,  at  $16,   32,00 

Ditto  for  one  child  above  7,   24,00 

Ditto  for  the  boarding  of  two  of  the  addition- 
al children,  omitting  the  youngest,  at  $1 

per  week,   104,00 

The  total  sum  is  $960,00 


Which  is  very  nearly  the  sum  ($976,00)  that  I  have  stated 
as  the  fair  average. — See  page  146. 

Now  let  us  make  a  calculation,  according  to  the  rate  giv- 
en by  these  gentlemen,  of  the  support  of  a  married  preach- 
er, with  a  wife  and  five  children,  three  under  and  two  above 
seven  years  of  age — when  appointed  to  a  country  circuit  or 


station.    The  case  would  stand  thus: — 

Allowed  for  himself  and  wife,  ....  $200,00 
Ditto  for  5  children,  3  under  and  2  above  7 

years,   96,00 


Amount  carried  forward,  $296,00 


MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 


173 


Amount  carried  forward, 


$296,00 


Table  expenses,  or  board  for  himself  and 

wife,  at  $2  each  per  week,   208,00 

Board  of  children,  at  $2  per  week  for  the 

four,  omitting  the  youngest,      ....  104,00 


Keeping  of  a  horse,  at  $1  per  week,    .    .  52,00 


Thus,  according  to  these  gentlemen,  who  had  the  very- 
best  opportunity  of  knowing,  the  average  salary  of  a  Meth- 
odist preacher,  with  such  a  family,  if  appointed  to  a  country 
circuit  or  station,  would  be,  without  any  discount  on  his 
"  quarterage," — $747,00; — which  is  upwards  of  eighty  dol- 
lars more  than  the  average  which  I  have  given  on  page  144. 

Again,  in  their  "  Review  of  the  answer  given  by  the  late 
General  Conference  to  the  petitions  and  memorials  sent  up 
by  the  Reformers,"  they  say: — 

"  In  pursuing  this  report,  we  have  now  arrived  at  a  point 
which  brings  to  view,  '  a  topic,  to  which  we  advert  with 
great  reluctance;'  but  the  conference  '  compel  us.'  The  para- 
graph is  long,  and  in  our  opinion,  presents  a  novel  specimen 
of  self  gratulation,  and  irreverend  boasting.  1  The  present 
economy  bears  with  peculiar  severity  upon  the  personal  and 
domestic  comforts  of  the  itinerant  ministry.'  '  The  surest 
way  to  secure  their  worldly  interest,  personal  ease,  and  do- 
mestic comforts,  would  be  to  effect  the  changes  proposed.' 
'  We  do  not  doubt  that  the  changes  proposed  would  increase 
our  temporal  comforts,'  &c. 

"  Such  is  the  style  of  the  report.  But  are  such  the  facts  ? 
To  facts  we  must  appeal,  however  delicate  the  investigation. 
Where  can  a  man  of  talents  perform  services  with  more  cer- 


House  rent  and  fuel, 
Travelling  expenses, 


75,00 
12,00 


$747,00 


174 


MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 


tain  prospects  of  reward  than  in  the  Methodist  itineracy  ? 
If  he  be  poor,  he  is  at  once  substantially  made  rich,  if  com- 
fortable accommodations  may  be  called  riches.  What  table 
does  not  offer  him  the  best;  though  the  day  before  he  may 
have  left  the  plough,  the  shoe  maker's  bench  or  the  tailor's 
board,  the  day  after  he  has  a  servant  to  wait  upon  him. 
Should  not  one  more  suitable  be  at  hand,  perhaps  aged  and 
respectable  men,  either  from  politeness  or  love,  become  his 
servants.  If  hitherto  obscure  and  unknown,  he  is  at  once 
introduced  into  the  most  respectable  society.  The  varied 
field  of  life  through  which  he  moves,  diversifies  his  delights, 
and  relieves  him  from  those  mental  labours,  common  to  sta- 
tionary ministers. 

"  We  are  of  the  opinion  that  a  system  which  at  once  ele- 
vates men  from  the  various  departments  of  humble  life,  and 
from  a  state  of  dependence,  to  sovereign  rule;  from  compar- 
ative ignorance,  to  the  means  of  improvement  in  knowledge; 
so  far  from  being  a  system  of  sacrifice  and  self-denial,  in 
these  respects,  is  one  of  great  enjoyment;  and  it  sornetimes 
proves  a  system  of  emolument.  Could  we  fully  receive 
the  report  of  the  conference,  we  might  suppose,  that,  like 
Moses,  they  had  denied  themselves  the  prospect  of  great 
honours,  wealth,  and  pleasure.  We  are  however  constrain- 
ed to  believe,  that  there  are  few,  if  any,  of  those  itinerants, 
who  would  change  their  situation  for  one  of  less  sacrifice, 
unless  it  afforded  him  as  great  enjoyment  and  emolument. 

"  The  day  has  gone  by  in  this  country  when  the  Meth- 
odist ministers  went  '  forth  in  tears'  on  account  of  persecu- 
tion, 'sowing  precious  seed;'  the  winter  is  now  past, 
the  rain  is  over  and  gone;  the  flowers  appear  on  the  earth  ; 
<  the  time  of  the  singing  of  birds  is  come,  and  the  voice  of  the 
turtle  is  heard  in  our  land.'  The  Methodist  itinerants  of 
former  times,  were  like  1  the  voice  of  one  crying  in  the  wil- 


MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 


175 


derness,  prepare  ye  the  way  of  the  Lord,  make  his  paths 
strait.'  They  were  then  men  of  plainness  and  self-denial. 
A  contrast  of  such  with  those  of  the  present  time  certainly 
exhibits  a  great  disparity. 

"  But  would  the  changes  proposed  really  improve  the  con- 
dition of  our  itinerant  brethren,  as  their  report  supposes  ? 
How  could  it?  They  have  all  power  in  their  hands  at  pre- 
sent; what  more  can  they  have,  according  to  the  civil  laws 
of  this  country  ?  The  change  proposed  contemplates  the 
transfer  of  that  power  to  the  Methodist  community  at  large. 
Query:  If  the  community  had  the  selection  of  talents,  would 
all  the  itineracy  be  continued  in  service?  If  the  preferment 
of  men  depended  on  talents  and  moral  worth,  instead  of 
episcopal  patronage,  would  not  immediate  ins  and  outs  en- 
sue ?  If  our  ministry  in  general  were  to  stand  or  fall  on 
the  ground  of  personal  worth,  instead  of  that  of  authority, 
should  we  not  soon  have  a  more  studious,  holy,  able  and 
useful  ministry  ?  Whatever  party  men  may  say  in  answer 
to  these  queries,  we  cheerfully  confide  their  solution  to  the 
'good  sense  and  candour  of  the  public.'" — lb.,  vol.  IV.7 
pp.  358  and  9. 

The  foregoing  extracts,  be  it  remembered,  were  penned  by 
gentlemen,  who,  from  their  long  connection  with  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  and  ministry,  were  able  to  speak 
from  personal  knowledge: — and  I  have  copied  them,  not  on- 
ly because  they  show  that  the  support  of  the  Methodist 
preachers  is  ample,  but  likewise  because  they  exhibit  what 
are,  in  their  judgment,  the  literary  character  of  many  of  the 
itinerants,  and  the  real  value  of  their  services  as  public  in- 
structors. 

In  order  to  guard  against  misconception,  let  it  be  distinct- 
ly observed,  that  we  do  not  doubt  that  "  the  labourer  is 
worthy  of  his  hire."    We  have  exhibited  the  foregoing  esti- 


176 


MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 


mates,  &c,  because  the  fact  which  they  prove  has  been 
most  flatly  denied,  and  ils  proof  rudely  and  pertinaciously 
challenged — and  also  for  the  purpose  of  exposing  the  invi- 
dious and  unrighteous  comparisons  which  are  often  made  be- 
tween the  salaries  of  Methodist  preachers  and  those  of  the 
pastors  of  other  protestant  churches: — and  not  because  wor- 
thy ministers  are  not  entitled  to  a  liberal  support  for  their  la- 
borious and  valuable  services.  How  far  it  is  for  the  good 
of  society  to  maintain  those  who  are  mere  ministerial  quacks 
— who,  by  their  notorious  incompetency  and  vulgar  fanati- 
cism, are  a  disgrace  to  the  clerical  profession,  and  a  re- 
proach to  religion — is  a  question  which  I  shall  not  at  present 
discuss.  But  that  those  among  the  Methodist  clergy — (and 
doubtless  there  are  such)  who  are  pious  and  faithful  men, 
and  "  able  to  teach  others,"  are  worthy  of  a  liberal  support, 
there  can  be  no  doubt;  and  it  is  an  honour  to  the  laity  of 
that  church,  that  they  do  provide  so  amply  for  them.  I  will 
quote,  with  approbation  and  pleasure,  the  following  generous 
extract,  which  will  not  only  express  my  own  views  on  the  sub- 
ject of  ministerial  support,  but  at  the  same  time  serve  to  show 
that  the  Methodist  Reformers,  whose  estimates  and  views  I 
have  just  given,  were  actuated  by  no  envious  or  malignant 
spirit  towards  their  itinerant  brethren.  The  extract  is  taken 
from  an  article  headed  "  Rights  of  the  Itinerant  Minis- 
ters," and  is  as  follows: 

"  They  are  entitled  to  a  support  from  those  for  whom  they 
labour.  That  support  ought  always  to  be  regulated  by  the 
ability  of  those  who  pay,  and  the  necessities  of  him  who  la- 
bours. And  we  believe  that  in  general,  this  is  the  case  among 
the  Methodists,  quite  as  much,  at  least,  as  among  any  other 
Christian  denomination.  Nothing,  it  would  seem,  is  more 
clear,  than  that  if  the  church  requires  the  whole  time  and  at- 
tention of  an  individual  occupied  in  her  service,  she  ought 


MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 


177 


lo  assume  the  maintenance  of  that  individual.  It  is  fur- 
thermore evident,  I  would  suppose,  that  the  church  ought  to 
afford  her  ministers  such  a  support  as  will  enable  them  to  ap- 
pear respectable  in  their  persons  and  families,  and  to  exercise 
a  becoming  hospitality  to  strangers,  who  may  visit  them;  as 
also  to  be  able  to  give  something  in  charitable  donations  to 
the  poor.  The  reputation  of  the  church  itself  must  needs 
require  that  her  ministers  appear  respectable,  and  I  hope  no 
Christian  will  be  willing  to  deny  them  the  ability  to  share  in 
the  pleasures  of  benevolence.  Our  confidence  in  their  in- 
tegrity, ought  to  remove  the  fear  of  intrusting  them  with 
something  more  than  a  bare  supply,  for  the  true  minister  of 
Christ  will  be  as  likely  to  appropriate  his  supply  to  a  charita- 
ble use,  as  any  other  man.  I  have  thrown  together  these 
disunited  and  broken  ideas,  in  order  to  attract  the  attention 
of  some  one  who  has  more  leisure  than  I  for  the  prosecution 
of  the  subject.  And  because  I  wish  it  distinctly  understood, 
that  while  I  seek  reform  in  the  church,  I  respect,  and  intend 
ever  to  maintain  the  rights  of  the  ministers,  as  well  as 
those  of  the  members." — Mutual  Rights,  vol.  II.,  pp.  251 
and  2. 

Having  thus  shown,  from  their  Book  of  Discipline,  and 
the  testimony  of  others,  what  is  the  probable  average  salary 
of  the  ministers  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  let  me 
now,  in  further  prosecution  of  my  design,  make  a  few  re- 
marks relative  to  the  salary  of  Presbyterian  pastors; — ob- 
serving that  the  same  might  be  made,  substantially,  respect- 
ing the  ministerial  support  of  all  the  other  principal  protest- 
ant  denominations. 

The  following  extracts  from  our  Form  of  Government, 
chap.  XIV.,  will  show  what  are  the  moral  and  literary  quali- 
fications required  of  candidates  for  the  gospel  ministry  in  the 
Presbyterian  Church: — 
23 


178 


MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 


"  The  Holy  Scriptures  require  that  some  trial  be  previous- 
ly had  of  them  who  are  to  be  ordained  to  the  ministry  of 
the  gospel,  that  this  sacred  office  may  not  be  degraded,  by 
being  committed  to  weak  or  unworthy  men;  and  that  the 
churches  may  have  an  opportunity  to  form  a  better  judgment 
respecting  the  talents  of  those  by  whom  they  are  to  be  in- 
structed and  governed.  For  this  purpose  presbyteries  shall 
license  probationers  to  preach  the  gospel,  that  after  a  com- 
petent trial  of  their  talents,  and  receiving  from  the  churches 
a  good  report,  they  may,  in  due  time,  ordain  them  to  the  sa- 
cred office. 

"  It  is  proper  and  requisite  that  candidates  applying  to  the 
presbytery  to  be  licensed  to  preach  the  gospel,  produce  sa- 
tisfactory testimonials  of  their  good  moral  character,  and  of 
their  being  regular  members  of  some  particular  church. 
And  it  is  the  duty  of  the  presbytery,  for  their  satisfaction 
with  regard  to  the  real  piety  of  such  candidates,  to  examine 
them  respecting  their  experimental  acquaintance  with  reli- 
gion, and  the  motives  which  influence  them  to  desire  the  sa- 
cred office.  This  examination  shall  be  close  and  particular, 
and,  in  most  cases,  may  best  be  conducted  in  the  presence 
of  the  presbytery  only.  And  it  is  recommended,  that  the 
candidates  be  also  required  to  produce  a  diploma  of  bachelor 
or  master  of  arts,  from  some  college  or  university:  or,  at  least, 
authentic  testimonials  of  his  having  gone  through  a  regular 
course  of  learning. 

"  Because  it  is  highly  reproachful  to  religion,  and  danger- 
ous to  the  church,  to  intrust  the  holy  ministry  to  weak  and 
ignorant  men,  the  presbytery  shall  try  each  candidate,  as  to  his 
knowledge  of  the  Latin  language:  and  the  original  languages 
in  which  the  Holy  Scriptures  were  written.  They  shall  also 
examine  him  on  the  arts  and  sciences;  on  theology,  natural 
and  revealed;  and  on  ecclesiastical  history,  the  sacraments, 


MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 


179 


and  church  government.  And  in  order  to  make  trial  of  his 
talents  to  explain  and  vindicate,  and  practically  to  enforce 
the  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  the  presbytery  shall  require  of 
him, 

"  A  Latin  exegesis  on  some  common  head  in  divinity. 

"A  critical  exercise;  in  which  the  candidate  shall  give  a 
specimen  of  his  taste  and  judgment  in  sacred  criticism;  pre- 
senting an  explication  of  the  original  text,  stating  its  con- 
nection, illustrating  its  force  and  beauties,  removing  its  diffi- 
culties, and  solving  any  important  questions  which  it  may 
present. 

"  A  lecture,  or  exposition  of  several  verses  of  Scripture; 
and, 

"  A  popular  sermon. 

"These,  or  other  similar  exercises,  at  the  discretion  of 
the  presbytery,  shall  be  exhibited  until  they  shall  have  ob- 
tained satisfaction  as  to  the  candidate's  piety,  literature,  and 
aptness  to  teach  in  the  churches.  The  lecture  and  popular 
sermon,  if  the  presbytery  think  proper,  may  be  delivered  in 
the  presence  of  a  congregation. 

"  That  the  most  effectual  measures  may  betaken  to  guard 
against  the  admission  of  insufficient  men  into  the  sacred  of- 
fice, it  is  recommended,  that  no  candidate,  except  in  extraor- 
dinary cases,  be  licensed,  unless,  after  his  having  completed 
the  usual  course  of  academical  studies,  he  shall  have  studied 
divinity  at  least  two  years,  under  some  approved  divine 
or  professor  of  theology." — [It  is  now  usual  for  our  candi- 
dates, after  they  have  graduated  at  some  college,  or  have 
gone  through  a  regular  course  of  learning,  to  spend  three 
years  at  some  one  of  our  theological  seminaries  in  the  study 
of  divinity.] 

The  course  of  study  thus  required,  occupies  from  seven 
to  ten  or  twelve  years;  and  in  its  prosecution,  the  candi- 


180 


MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 


date  is  often  obliged  to  spend  a  considerable  estate — some- 
times the  whole  of  his  patrimony.  It  is  true  that  a  great 
many,  being  unable  to  defray  the  expense,  are  assisted  by 
the  Board  of  Education  of  the  Presbyterian  Church;  but  it 
is  with  the  distinct  understanding,  that  the  money  advanced, 
shall  be  refunded,  if  ever  the  candidate  becomes  able  to  do  so. 

The  regulation  of  the  salaries  of  Presbyterian  ministers, 
is  left,  as  it  should  be  left — ivith  the  people.  Each  congre- 
gation calls  the  man  of  their  own  choice,  and  determines 
the  amount  of  his  salary.  This  amount  is  generally  regulat- 
ed more  by  the  estimated  ability  of  the  congregation,  than 
the  necessities  of  the  minister  whom  they  call.  That  is,  the 
sum  agreed  upon  by  the  congregation,  is  usually  less  than 
the  people  would  acknowledge  to  be  requisite  for  the  com- 
fortable support  of  the  pastor;  but  it  is  what  they  are  able, 
or  think  themselves  only  able  to  give.  All  that  is  said  on 
this  subject  in  our  Form  of  Government  is  contained  in  the 
following  form  of  a  call: — 

"  The  congregation  of  being,  on  sufficient  grounds, 

well  satisfied  of  the  ministerial  qualifications  of  you 
and  having  good  hopes,  from  our  past  experience  of  your 
labours,  that  your  ministrations  in  the  gospel  will  be  profita- 
ble to  our  spiritual  interests,  do  earnestly  call  and  desire  you 
to  undertake  the  pasioral  office  in  said  congregation;  pro- 
mising you,  in  the  discharge  of  your  duty,  all  proper  sup- 
port, encouragement,  and  obedience  in  the  Lord.  And  that 
you  may  be  free  from  worldly  cares  and  avocations,  we  here- 
by promise  and  oblige  ourselves  to  pay  to  you  the  sum  of 
in  regular  quarterly,  (or  hdf  yearly,  or  yearly)  pay- 
ments, during  the  time  of  your  being  and  continuing  the 
regular  pastor  of  this  church." — Chap.  XV. 

The  blanks  in  the  foregoing  form,  are  filled,  as  I  have 
said,  by  the  people  themselves,  according  to  their  own  sense 


MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 


181 


of  propriety  or  ability;  and  I  have  never  known  of  a  casein 
which  any  of  our  ecclesiastical  courts  have  interfered  with 
the  pecuniary  arrangement  thus  made  by  the  people  with 
their  respective  pastors. 

The  nominal  amount  of  the  salaries  of  Presbyterian  bish- 
ops or  pastors  varies  much  according  to  the  ability  or  liber- 
ality of  their  flocks,  and  the  expense  of  living  in  different 
places. 

In  country  parishes,  and  in  the  smaller  towns  and  villages, 
I  suppose  that  their  salaries  range,  nominally,  from  $400  to 
$500.  Some  receiving  much  less  than  the  sura  first  named, 
and  a  few,  perhaps,  a  little  more  than  the  amount  last  men- 
tioned. Certain  am  I,  that  $400  are  considerably  more  than 
the  average  salary  of  the  country  pastors,  settled  within  the 
bounds  of  the  Presbytery  of  Baltimore.  And  it  should  be 
remembered,  that  of  the  sum  promised,  many  do  not  receive 
the  full  amount — some  not  more  than  one-half,  or  two  thirds; 
and  even  for  what  they  do  receive,  they  must  wait,  often- 
times for  months,  yea,  years  ! 

It  may  be  asked, — how  do  they  live  on  such  trifling  sala- 
ries ?  I  answer,  that  if  they  depended  entirely  on  their  sala- 
ries, they  could  not  live  !  Multitudes  of  them  are  therefore 
obliged  to  employ  a  large  portion  of  their  time  in  teaching, 
or  in  cultivating  the  soil,  and  others  are  drawing  largely  up- 
on their  own  private  means  to  make  up  the  deficiency  of 
their  ministerial  support !  With  their  previous  liberal  ed- 
ucation and  mental  discipline,  they  are  able  to  sustain  them- 
selves as  religious  teachers  with  much  greater  facility  than 
they  could  otherwise  do,  but  even  with  these  advantages, 
many  of  them  are  compelled,  by  their  daily  secular  employ- 
ments, to  devote  the  hours  usually  allotted  to  recreation  and 
repose,  in  studious  preparation  for  their  sabbath  and  minis- 
terial duties !    It  is  my  deliberate  conviction  that  there  is 


182 


MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 


not  a  body  of  clergy  on  earth,  with  any  thing  like  the  same 
piety,  talents,  learning  and  zeal,  who  receive  so  poor  a  re- 
muneration for  their  services.  And  yet  these  are  the  men, 
between  whom,  and  the  Methodist  itinerants,  who  receive 
so  much  more,  the  most  invidious  and  disingenuous  compa- 
risons are  often  drawn  !  I  confess  that,  with  my  personal 
knowledge  of  their  deprivations,  self-denials  and  toils,  I 
have  found  it  difficult  to  restrain  my  indignation,  when  I  have 
heard  of  such  men  being  denounced  as  "  hireling  priests" 
and  "  money  preachers,"  by  the  friends  of  that  very  system 
whose  circuit  preachers  are  so  much  more  liberally  and  am- 
ply provided  for ! !  Beloved  men  of  God  !  your  lot  is  in- 
deed hard: — to  be  deprived  of  what  is  necessary  for  your 
support,  or  else  obliged  to  "  labour  with  your  own  hands," 
to  keep  yourselves  and  families  from  actual  starvation  ! — and 
yet  to  be  thus  stigmatized  and  persecuted  by  men  calling 
themselves  Christians  ! — but  remember  that  your  reward  is 
on  high — and  great  and  glorious  will  that  reward  be,  if  ye 
persevere,  "  through  evil  as  well  as  good  report,"  faithful 
unto  the  end  ! — Brethren,  my  prayer  is,  that  you  may  be  di- 
vinely supported  under  your  painful  sacrifices  and  arduous 
labours,  and  that  God  may  give  your  accusers  the  grace,  not 
only  of  repentance,  but  of  Christian  honour,  truth,  and 
charity ! 

The  nominal  salaries  of  the  Presbyterian  pastors,  located 
in  the  larger  towns  and  cities,  are  perhaps  about  double  what 
they  are  in  the  country  parishes.  They  probably  range  from 
$800  to  $1000 — some  receive  less  than  the  former  sum,  and 
very  few  more  than  the  latter. 

In  the  principal  cities,  where  the  cost  of  living  is  very 
high,  their  salaries  are  greater.  A  few  pastors,  presiding 
over  large  and  wealthy  churches,  receive  what  may  be  called 
comparatively  large  salaries;  but  the  number  of  these  is 


MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 


183 


very  small  indeed.  I  think  it  probable,  however,  as  I  have 
before  stated,  that  our  pastors  do,  in  general,  receive  larg- 
er salaries,  in  some  half  a  dozen  of  our  principal  cities, 
than  the  Methodist  ministers  stationed  in  the  same  places. 
And  yet  it  is  a  fact,  that  many  of  them  receive  less  than 
some  of  the  Methodist  pastors,  located  in  the  same  cities. 

Let  me  state  the  case  of  one,  as  an  example,  and  I  take 
this  one,  not  only  because  I  am  best  acquainted  with  its  de- 
tails, but  because  it  has  been  made  the  subject  of  invi- 
dious comparison  with  the  alleged  "  small  salary"  of  the 
neighbouring  Methodist  preachers.  The  Presbyterian  bish- 
op to  whom  I  refer,  was  settled  in  this  good  city  of  Balti- 
more, between  twelve  and  thirteen  years  ago.  For  several 
years  after  his  settlement,  he  received  a  nominal  salary  of 
$800,  which  was  subsequently  increased,  until  it  amounted, 
in  1840,  to  $1500.  The  amount  actually  receivd  by  hiin, 
during  the  twelve  years,  averages,  precisely,  one  thousand 
and  thirty-three  dollars  and  thirty-three  cents  ($1033,33)  per 
annum.  Out  of  this  comparatively  small  salary,  he  has  given 
in  money,  towards  the  liquidation  of  the  debt  of  the  church 
alone, — to  say  nothing  of  the  contributions  to  other  benevo- 
lent institutions,  and  the  poor, — the  sum  of  one  thousand 
three  hundred  and  fifty  dollars.  If  this  sum,  thus  returned 
directly  to  the  church,  were  subtracted  from  his  salary,  it 
would  leave  an  average  of  nine  hundred  and  seventy  dollars 
and  eighty  three  cents  ($970,83)  per  year.  And  yet,  while 
the  Rev.  pastor  of  the  Light  street  Methodist  Church  is 
said  to  have  been  receiving  twelve  hundred  dollars  ($1200,00) 
per  annum,  exclusive  of  house  rent, — this  Presbyterian  bish- 
op is  privately  stigmatized,  by  some  of  the  friends  of  Meth- 
odism, as  receiving  an  enormous  salary  !  !  I  said  that  the 
salary  of  this  Presbyterian  pastor  was  recently  raised  to 


184 


MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 


$1500: — this  sum,  however,  he  received  for  a  single  year 
only.  At  the  expiration  of  that  year,  in  view  of  the  moneta- 
ry embarrassments  of  the  times,  he  voluntarily  relinquish- 
ed one-fifth  of  it,  ($300,00)  and  has  continued  to  do  so  ever 
since.  Yea,  further,  finding  the  pressure  of  the  times  in- 
creasing, this  Presbyterian  bishop  spontaneously  expressed 
to  his  congregation  his  cheerful  readiness  to  submit  to  any 
additional  reduction  which  they  might  judge  expedient,  rath- 
er than  that  the  church  should  get  involved,  or  he  become  a 
burthen  to  his  flock. 

Let  it  not  to  be  supposed,  from  this  statement,  that  this 
pastor  has  ever  complained  of  the  comparative  smallness  of 
his  salary,  or  of  a  want  of  Christian  liberality  on  the  part  of 
the  people  to  whom  he  ministers.  Very — very  far  from  it. 
He  has  always  been  content  with  his  pastoral  lot,  and  has 
ever  spoken  of  the  love  and  generosity  of  his  beloved  flock 
in  terms  of  the  highest  commendation.  They  were,  at  first, 
but  few  in  numbers,  and  oppressed  by  a  large  church  debt; 
but  as,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  they  grew  in  numbers  and 
ability,  so  did  they  abound  in  liberality  towards  their  chosen 
and  cherished  pastor.  The  fact  that  his  salary  was  increas- 
ed within  ten  years  to  nearly  double  the  amount  of  what  it 
was  originally,  is  sufficient  and  substantial  proof  of  their  af- 
fection and  generosity  towards  him;  which  he  has  not  been 
slow  either  to  appreciate  or  acknowledge.  And  to  their  hon- 
our it  should  be  stated,  that  when,  a  short  time  since,  their 
pastor  expressed  a  willingness  to  make  any  further  sacrifices 
which  might  be  necessary,  in  view  of  the  continued  and  in- 
creasing pecuniary  difficulties  of  the  times,  they  spontane- 
ously and  unanimously  determined,  that  no  additional  sacri- 
fices on  his  part  should  be  permitted.  In  view  of  the  mis- 
representations which  have  been  specially  made  of  late,  I 


MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 


185 


may  be  pardoned  for  quoting  the  resolutions  adopted  on  that 
occasion,  by  those  who  have  known  him  long  and  intimately: 
— they  are  as  follow: — 

"  Resolved,  That  this  meeting  fully  appreciate  the  earnest 
zeal  and  untiring  liberality  of  their  pastor,  as  exemplified 
and  illustrated  by  the  facts  embodied  in  the  report  of  the 
Board  of  Trustees.  Deservedly  strong,  as  he  has  been,  at 
all  times  heretofore,  in  the  affectionate  regards  of  the  con- 
gregation, the. evidences  of  zeal  and  liberality  thus  afforded, 
cannot  but  endear  him  the  more  to  his  flock,  and  give  him 
yet  stronger  titles  to  their  esteem  and  love. 

"  Resolved,  That  while  thus  bearing  testimony  to  the  self- 
devotion,  the  labours  and  sacrifices  of  their  pastor,  on  behalf 
of  the  church  and  congregation  committed  to  him,  the  con- 
gregation earnestly  respond  to  the  anxiety  expressed  by  the 
Board  of  Trustees,  that  he  shall  not,  under  any  circumstan- 
ces, be  called  on  to  make  any  additional  sacrifices.  With 
those  already  made,  seconded  as  they  have  been  by  the  libe- 
ral co-operation  of  all  who  felt  interested  in  its  prosperity, 
the  church  has  been  enabled  to  emerge  from  the  gloom  of 
its  early  difficulties,  and  in  effect,  to  discharge  all  its  pecu- 
niary liabilities.  In  this  satisfactory  state  of  its  concerns, 
the  congregation  cannot  entertain  the  thought  of  additional 
sacrifices  by  their  pastor.  An  extraordinary  depression  in 
business  affairs,  such  as  has  been  experienced  for  two  years 
past,  may  indeed  justify  the  measure  of  sacrifice,  as  now 
existing,  yet  a  little  longer.  But  under  no  circumstances 
could  this  meeting  consent  to  any  increased  or  additional 
sacrifices,  on  the  part  of  their  beloved  pastor.  And  while 
they  resolve,  that  none  such  shall  be  permitted,  they  pledge 
themselves,  as  a  congregation,  to  join  heartily  with  the  Board 
of  Trustees,  in  all  requisite  measures  and  action,  for  render- 
24 


186 


MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 


ing  such  additional  sacrifice  on  his  part,  in  any  event  unne- 
cessary." 

And  yet,  this  is  the  man, — of  whom  his  own  people,  who 
know  him  best,  thus  spontaneously  and  unanimously  testify — 
this  is  the  man  who  is  often  contrasted  invidiously,  by  many 
of  the  friends  of  Methodism,  with  the  alleged  disinterested- 
ness and  superior  devotedness  of  Methodist  preachers  !  I 
blush  to  make  this  exhibit: — but,  as  even  the  humble  and 
holy  apostle  was  sometimes  "  provoked"  to  speak  of  his 
own  sacrifices  and  labours  for  the  public  good,  so  we  are 
sometimes  compelled  to  speak  of  things,  which  nothing  but 
a  sense  of  duty,  in  self-defence,  could  possibly  extort  from 
our  lips  or  pen. 

In  connection  with  the  foregoing  statements  of  the  nomi- 
nal amount  of  the  salaries  of  Presbyterian  pastors,  it  should 
be  remembered  that,  with  very  few  exceptions,  the  sums 
mentioned  are  all  that  they  receive.  Some  few  churches  have 
provided  parsonages  or  dwelling  houses  for  their  pastors, 
and  in  some  few  instances,  in  the  country,  a  lot  of  ground  is 
added  for  their  accommodation.  But  these  exceptions  are 
rare.  In  general,  the  pastors  are  obliged  to  pay  their  house 
rent  out  of  their  salary — and  in  no  instance,  within  my 
knowledge,  is  any  thing  allowed,  in  addition  to  their  salary, 
for  table  expenses,  fuel,  furniture,  travelling  expenses,  &c. 

Nor  is  there  any  provision  made  for  the  "  occasional  dis- 
tresses" of  Presbyterian  pastors  or  their  families.  No  mat- 
ter how  inadequate  their  salary  may  be  to  their  support — no 
matter  how  much  in  arrears  their  people  may  be  in  paying 
them  what  they  had  promised — no  matter  what  providential 
misfortunes  may  have  overtaken  them,  there  is  no  provision 
made  for  their  relief — no  general  fund  from  which  they  may 
derive  assistance. 


MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 


187 


Neither  is  there  any  provision  made  for  the  support  of 
those,  who,  though  competent  and  willing  to  perform  minis- 
terial service,  are  yet  unable  to  procure  a  pastoral  charge. 
There  are  no  "  supernumeraries"  on  "  half-pay"  in  the  Pres- 
byterian Church.  However  long  it  may  be  before  a  Pres- 
byterian clergyman  is  settled,  and  however  much  he  and  his 
family  may  suffer  on  that  account,  he  receives  nothing  until 
he  obtains  a  situation,  and  is  actively  employed  in  his  pro- 
fessional work. 

There  is  not  any  provision  made  even  for  those  who  have 
become  disabled  by  sickness  or  infirmity  from  performing 
pastoral  duty.  The  salary  of  a  Presbyterian  pastor  is  pro- 
mised and  paid,  only  "  during  the  time  of  his  being  and  con- 
tinuing the  regular  pastor  of  the  church."  As  soon  as  he 
ascertains  that  he  has  been  permanently  disabled,  he  resigns 
his  charge;  and  there  is  no  provision  made  for  the  subse- 
quent support  either  of  himself  or  family.  He  may  have 
spent  the  whole  of  his  patrimony  in  his  preparation  for  the 
sacred  office,  or  sacrificed  all  that  remained  of  his  inherit- 
ance in  making  up  the  yearly  deficiency  of  his  ministerial 
support.  He  may  have  spent  the  best  part  of  his  life  in  la- 
bouring for  the  good  of  his  flock,  and  actually  destroyed  his 
health  in  their  service, — still  there  is  no  provision  made  for 
his  sickness  or  declining  age,  for  he  is  supported  no  longer 
than  he  is  able  to  discharge  his  pastoral  duties  with  accept- 
ance to  his  people.  Many  faithful,  but  sick  and  aged  pas- 
tors, are  thus  literally  cast  upon  "the  cold  charities  of  the 
world!"  I  say  not  that  this  should  be  so — that  such  men  have 
not  any  moral  claim  on  the  Christian  sympathy,  and  even 
justice  of  the  churches  which  they  have  faithfully  served 
during  their  health  and  manly  vigour.  No,  no,  beyond  all 
question,  it  is  the  sacred  duty  of  the  churches  to  make  some 


188 


MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 


provision  for  their  sick  and  "worn-out"  pastors — especially 
as,  during  their  active  service,  they  seldom  receive  more  than 
a  bare  support,  and  very  often  not  that !  But  I  am  now 
speaking  only  of  what  is  the  fact  respecting  such  pastors  of 
Presbyterian  Churches,  and  for  the  purpose  of  contrasting 
their  destitute  and  miserable  condition,  with  the  comparative 
ease  and  comfort  of  Methodist  preachers  similarly  disabled 
or  superannuated. 

And  we  must  add,  that  there  is  no  provision  made,  by  the 
church,  for  the  "  widows  and  orphans''''  of  Presbyterian  pas- 
tors. If  they  depart  in  poverty — and  few,  if  any,  are  able 
to  lay  up  any  thing  for  their  families  from  their  ministerial 
salary,  their  widows  and  orphans  are  left  utterly  destitute  ! 
Who  can  tell  the  anxiety  and  grief  of  many  pastors  in  anti- 
cipation of  their  decease  on  this  account !  Who  can  tell  the 
agonizing  struggle  of  many  such  in  death,  as  they  bid  their 
weeping  companions  and  children  adieu,  and  leave  them  in  a 
selfish  and  unfeeling  world  without  the  means  of  procuring 
even  the  necessaries  of  life  !  What  a  relief  it  would  be  to 
such  a  dying  husband  and  father,  if  he  could  point  to  some 
ecclesiastical  statute  which  provides  so  much  for  his  widow 
during  her  life,  and  as  much  as  may  be  "  necessary"  for  the 
<f  subsistence  and  education"  of  his  beloved  children !  And 
what  a  consolation  to  his  wife  and  children  in  the  remote  or 
immediate  prospect  of  his  decease  !  But  while  Methodist 
preachers  and  their  families  have  these  precious  consolations, 
(and  I  rejoice  and  thank  God  that  they  have)  Presbyterian 
pastors  and  their  families  are  entirely  destitute  of  them:  for 
their  church  has  made  no  provision  for  the  support  of  the 
widows  of  their  deceased  clergy,  or  for  the  subsistence  and 
education  of  their  orphans.  They  may  indeed,  if  by  extra 
labour,  or  severe  economy,  they  can  afford  it,  invest  a  portion 


MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 


189 


)f  their  income  in  some  voluntary  association  for  the  relief 
of  their  widows  and  orphans:  but,  I  repeat  it,  the  Presbyte- 
rian Church,  as  such,  has  made  no  provision  for  them,  and 
has  no  fund  appropriated  to  such  objects. 

And  now,  in  view  of  all  these  facts,  is  it  not  true,  that, 
"notwithstanding  their  ungenerous  and  invidious  compari- 
sons, the  Methodist  clergy  are,  indirectly,  but  substantially  and 
really,  better  provided  for,  as  to  temporalities,  than 
the  clergy  of  other  Christian  denominations  ?"  Certainly, 
so  far  as  the  Presbyterian  ministry  are  concerned,  the  Meth- 
odist clergy,  as  a  body,  receive  considerably  larger  salaries, 
while  actively  employed  in  their  profession: — and,  in  addi- 
tion, they  have  very  valuable  provisions  made  for  them, 
when  occasionally  distressed,  when  out  of  regular  employ- 
ment, when  disabled  by  sickness,  and  when  worn  out  by 
age,  which  Presbyterian  ministers  have  not.  And  besides 
these  great  advantages,  the  widows  and  orphans  of  Method- 
ist preachers  are  liberally  provided  for,  while  those  of  Pres- 
byterian pastors  are  left,  by  their  church,  entirely  destitute. 

Before  I  dismiss  this  topic,  I  will  again  remark  that  my 
object  has  not  been  to  show,  that  the  Methodist  clergy  and 
their  families  receive  too  much.  Those  among  them  who 
are  faithful  men  and  competent  instructors,  well  deserve  and 
are  justly  entitled  to  a  liberal  compensation  for  their  profes- 
sional services.  And  if  their  friends  had  been  content  si- 
lently to  allow  their  preachers  to  enjoy  their  comfortable  liv- 
ings and  emoluments,  without  reflecting  on  others  in  reality 
less  liberally  provided  for,  not  a  syllable  should  we  ever  have 
uttered  or  written  on  this  subject.  But  when  their  advo- 
cates indulge  in  the  most  invidious  comparisions  between 
the  ministerial  support  of  Methodist  preachers  and  that  of 
the  clergy  of  other  Christian  churches — when  Presbyterian 


190 


MINISTERIAL  SUPPORT. 


pastors,  especially,  are  represented  as  receiving  "large sala- 
ries," and  are  stigmatized  as  avaricious  and  worldly  minded 
men,  who  preach  only  for  money ! — then  it  becomes  an  im- 
perative duty,  in  self-defence,  to  expose  the  whole  truth.  It 
is  enough  that  we  should  be  required  to  bear  the  depriva- 
tions and  incessant  anxieties  and  toils  of  our  actual  lot,  with- 
out being  subjected  to  misrepresentation  and  detraction ! 
And  it  has  been  with  a  view  to  correct  such  false  represent- 
ations, and  to  defend  ourselves  against  the  injurious  effects 
of  such  unchristian  defamation,  that  we  have  spread  the 
foregoing  facts  and  detailed  statements  before  the  public: — 
particularly  as  our  former  brief  allusion  to  them  elicited  so 
flat  a  denial  of  their  truth,  and  the  evidence  on  which  the 
reference  was  made,  was  so  arrogantly  and  provokingly 
challenged  ! 


CHAPTER  V. 


FINANCIAL  MEASURES,  OR  MODE  OF  RAISING 
SUPPLIES. 

Class  meetings. — Comparative  cost  of  "  free  seats"  and  rented  pews — 
Love  feasts. — Special  subscriptions  and  collections.— Book  concern, 
periodicals,  &c. — The  immense  aggregate  amount  raised  from  great 
numbers,  by  small,  yet  frequent  contributions. — These  methods  contrast- 
ed with  the  system  adopted  by  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

Having  shown  what  provisions  have  been  made  by  the 
preachers  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  for  the  temporal 
support  of  themselves  and  families;  I  will  devote  a  few  pages 
in  exhibiting  their  peculiar  mode  of  "  raising  supplies" 

First,  by  "  class  meetings. "  -  Many  persons,  not  convers- 
ant with  the  Methodist  system  of  finance,  are  under  the  im- 
pression that  their  weekly  class  meetings  are  purely  religious, 
or  devoted  exclusively  to  spiritual  exercises.  But  the  truth 
is,  that  they  constitute  one  of  their  most  important  and  pro- 
fitable financial  measures — more  money  being  actually  raised 
by  them  than  by  any  other  means. 

The  origin  of  class  meetings  is  thus  described  by  Mr. 
Wesley  himself- — as  quoted  by  Lee  in  his  "  Short  History  of 
the  Methodists,"  page  15: — 

"In  1742,  the  societies  having  greatly  increased,  they 
were  divided  into  classes,  each  class  consisting  of  about 
twelve  persons,  who  were  committed  to  the  care  of  one  per- 
son styled  the  leader. — Mr.  Wesley  observes  on  this  occa- 
sion as  follows: 


192 


FINANCIAL  MEASURES. 


"  1  Feb.  15,  1742 — Many  of  us  were  met  together  in 
Bristol,  to  consult  on  a  proper  method  of  paying  the  public 
debt,  contracted  by  building;  and  it  was  agreed,  1.  That 
every  member  of  the  society  that  was  able,  should  contribute 
a  penny  a  week — 2.  That  the  whole  society  should  be  di- 
vided into  little  companies  or  classes,  of  about  twelve  in 
each  class. — 3.  That  one  person  in  each  class  should  re- 
ceive the  contribution  of  the  rest.  Thus  began,  says  he, 
that  excellent  institution,  merely  upon  a  temporal  account; 
from  which  we  have  reaped  so  many  spiritual  blessings:  we 
soon  fixed  the  same  rule  in  all  our  societies.' '' 

Having,  by  this  casual  circumstance,  perceived  the  im- 
portant financial,  as  well  as  spiritual  use  which  might  be 
made  of  such  "  classes,"  the  founder  of  Methodism  "  soon" 
incorporated  them  into  his  system — and  they  have  since 
yielded  an  immense  pecuniary  revenue  to  the  preachers  of 
that  sect. — Few  indeed,  have  any  adequate  conception  of 
the  vast  aggregate  amount  thus  annually  raised,  because 
the  weekly  individual  contributions  are  comparatively  small.  ~ 

This  subject  deserves  particular  notice,  because  nothing  is 
more  common  than  for  Methodists  to  boast  of  their  "  free 
seats,"  and  to  inveigh  against  the  "  rented  pews"  of  other 
churches.  And  yet  it  is  a  fact,  that,  on  an  average,  they  ac- 
tually pay  more — much  more,  in  the  course  of  a  year,  for 
their  "free  seats,"  than  the  members  of  other  churches  do 
for  their  rented  pews  !  There  is  a  singular  adaptation  in  the 
system  of  Methodism  to  conceal  the  truth  on  financial  sub- 
jects. As  it  is  impossible  even  to  approximate  the  amount 
of  their  preacher's  salaries  without  collecting  together  the 
various  items  which  are  mixed  up  with  other  subjects,  and 
spread  over  some  eight  or  ten  pages  of  their  Book  of  Dis- 
cipline; so  it  is  impossible  for  even  their  members  to  know, 
how  much  they  pay  towards  the  support  of  their  pastors  and 


FINANCIAL  MEASURES.  193 

their  families,  without  keeping  a  tedious  account  of  various 
small  sums  which  appear  in  themselves  too  insignificant  to 
be  remembered,  much  less  "booked,"  but  which,  in  the 
space  of  a  year,  amount  in  fact  to  a  very  considerable  sum. 
From  the  want  of  this  attention,  multitudes  are  deceived  by 
the  smallness  of  their  weekly  contributions  and  have  no  idea 
of  the  aggregate  amount  in  the  course  of  a  year.  Let  each 
contributor  keep  an  exact  account  of  every  sum,  however 
small,  which  he  contributes  in  his  class — at  love  feasts — at 
the  stated  sabbath  collections,  and  on  special  occasions,  for 
a  single  year,  and  he  will  be  astonished  to  find  how  much 
his  "  free  seat"  costs  him  per  annum  !  !  It  is  true — these 
contributions  are  voluntary — each  one  pays  as  much,  or  as 
little  as  he  pleases — and  nothing  at  all  if  he  so  chooses.  But 
it  is  precisely  so  also  in  those  churches  which  have  rented 
pews.  No  one  is  compelled  to  pay  pew  rent,  if  he  does  not 
choose  to  do  so.  The  rents  are  graduated  so  as  to  suit  the 
circumstances  of  the  congregation,  and  a  man  may  therefore 
rent  a  pew  at  almost  any  price  he  desires.  Many  families, 
who  are  not  able  to  pay  pew  rent,  occupy  pewrs  for  years 
without  paying-  a  cent  for  them — and  they  are  cordially  wel- 
come to  their  occupancy,  without  being  expected  or  desired 
to  contribute  any  thing.  But  while  there  is  no  compulsion 
in  either  case,  is  it  not  expected  in  both,  that  those  who  are 
able  will  contribute  towards  the  support  of  the  church?  and 
that  too,  according  to  their  ability  ?  Would  any  man  be 
considered  a  worthy  and  acceptable  member  of  a  Methodist 
class,  who  is  able  to  contribute  something,  and  yet  will  not? 
Does  not  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  inculcate  it  as  a 
moral  or  religious  duty,  that  every  member  should  give,  if 
able — and  as  much  as  he  is  able  ?  This  is  not  only  indubi- 
tably true  theoretically,  but  the  system  has  been  practically 
so  arranged,  as  that  very  few,  in  their  church,  can  ask  to 
25 


194 


FINANCIAL  MEASURES. 


be  excused  on  the  plea  of  poverty.  Certainly,  very  few  can 
say  that  they  are  not  able  to  give  "a  penny  a  week!" 
And  thus  the  system  is  made  to  embrace  all,  except  the 
most  destitute;  and,  of  course,  a  large  number,  who,  in 
other  churches,  would  not  be  expected  to  give  any  thing  at 
all!! 

The  sums  contributed  at  the  weekly  class  meetings  vary 
according  to  the  ability  and  liberality  of  the  members.  A 
respected  clergyman  who  had  been,  for  many  years,  in  con- 
nection with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  this  city,  in- 
formed me  that  the  amounts  ranged  from  a  few  cents  up  to 
a  dollar — and  that  he  believed  the  weekly  contribution  of 
each  member  would  average  ten  cents.  Well,  low  as  this 
average  appears  to  me  to  be,  let  us  adopt  and  compare  it 
with  the  average  cost  of  a  "  rented  seat"  in  one  of  our 
pewed  churches.  For  example,  in  the  Third  Presbyterian 
Church  in  this  city,  the  average  rent  of  pews  is  precisely 
$18,2°4  per  annum: — which,  allowing  six  persons  to  each 
pew,  (and  that  number  can  be  very  comfortably  accommodat- 
ed in  them,)  would  be  about  $3  per  year  for  each  seat,  or 
less  than  six  cents  per  week  for  each  person.  Thus  it  ap- 
pears, that  while,  on  an  average,  the  members  of  Methodist 
classes  pay  ten  cents  per  week,  the  average  weekly  pew  rent 
of  individuals  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  named  is  between 
five  and  six  cents,  or  only  a  little  more  than  one  half  as 
much !  No  wonder  that  "  free  seats"  are  lauded,  and 
"  rented  pews"  denounced,  when  it  is  discovered  that  they 
probably  raise  about  twice  as  much  money  by  their  free  sys- 
tem !  ! — Tt  should  be  observed,  that  in  this  calculation,  I 
have  not  included  the  sums  expected  to  be  given  at  love 
feasts — special  collections,  &c,  &c. — If  these  were  added, 
they  would  greatly  increase  the  average  yearly  cost  of  a 
Methodist  free  seat !  and  serve  to  show,  still  more  striking- 


FINANCIAL  MEASURES. 


195 


ly,  how  much  cheaper,  after  all,  rented  pews  are  ! — to  say- 
nothing  of  their  superior  comfort  and  important  moral  ad- 
vantages. 

Let  me  state  the  case  in  another  form.  In  the  Presbyte- 
rian Church  mentioned,  the  greater  number  of  families  rent 
but  the  half  of  a  pew,  which  will  comfortably  seat  at  least 
three  adult  persons.  The  average  rent  of  a  half  pew  would 
be  $9,14^  per  year,  or  about  seventeen  cents  a  week.  Where- 
as a  family  consisting  of  an  equal  number  belonging  to  a 
Methodist  class,  would  pay  on  an  average,  thirty  cents,  per 
week,  or  $15,60  a  year  !  In  other  words,  a  family  of  three 
persons,  can  rent  a  half  pew  in  the  Presbyterian  Church,  for 
seven  cents  more  per  week,  than  a  single  person  pays,  on  an 
average,  as  a  member  of  a  Methodist  class  ! — Or,  if  there 
are  three  persons  in  a  family  connected  with  a  Methodist 
class,  they  pay,  on  an  average,  nearly  twice  as  much  as  such 
a  family  would  pay,  on  an  average,  for  the  half  of  a  pew  in 
the  Presbyterian  Church  !  ! — to  say  nothing  of  the  additional 
cost  of  Methodist  love  feasts — special  subscriptions,  &c.  &c. 

With  regard  to  the  Methodist  "love  feasts:''''  it  may  be 
proper  to  inform  the  reader,  that  they,  like  their  class  meet- 
ings, are  used  for  the  purpose  of  revenue.  No  one  who  re- 
ceives a  ticket  of  admission  to  them  is  indeed  compelled  to 
pay  any  thing;  but  then  it  is  expected  that  every  one,  who 
is  able,  will  give  something,  and  as  much  as  he  is  able. 
And  as  the  occasion  is  one  of  special  interest,  it  is  to  be 
presumed  that  the  people  will  be  as  liberal  as  possible.  No 
doubt  the  love  feasts  are  very  profitable,  and  that  the  preach- 
ers realize  from  them  a  very  considerable  sum.  I  was  in- 
formed, by  the  Rev.  gentleman  before  referred  to,  that  the 
individual  contributions  vary  according  to  the  ability  or  gen- 
erosity of  the  members;  and  that  the  average  of  each  one 
would  be  about  ten  cents  at  each  quarterly  love  feast.  At 


196 


FINANCIAL  MEASURES. 


this  rate,  the  members  pay,  on  an  average,  (in  addition  to 
their  class  money,)  forty  cents  a  year;  and,  of  course,  if 
there  are  three  in  a  family,  one  dollar  and  twenty  cents  per 
annum.  If  this  be  added  to  the  amount  which  such  a  fami- 
ly contribute  at  their  class  meetings,  it  will  make  the  aggre- 
gate $4,20  per  quarter,  or  $16,80  per  year!  Whereas  the 
average  cost  of  a  half  pew  in  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
which  would  accommodate  the  same  number  of  persons, 
would  be  only  $2,28  per  quarter,  or  $9,14^  per  year!  ! 

It  should  also  be  stated  that,  in  addition  to  the  contribu- 
tions which  the  members  are  expected  to  make  at  the  week- 
ly class  meetings,  and  the  quarterly  love  feasts, — there  are 
numerous  special  subscriptions  and  collections  for  the  support 
of  their  ministers  and  their  families,  to  each  of  which,  every 
member,  wTho  is  able,  is  expected  to  contribute.  The 
amount  raised  in  this  way,  must  be  immense  !  Many  give 
on  such  special  occasions  very  liberally,  and  most,  no  doubt, 
contribute  something.  Now,  if  all  the  money  thus  given  in 
the  course  of  a  year — in  the  form  of  special  subscriptions, 
and  at  special  collections,  in  behalf  of  the  particular  objects 
mentioned,  were  added  to  the  contributions  at  classes,  and 
love  feasts,  it  would  greatly  swell  the  average  cost  of  a  Meth- 
odist "  free"  seat !  ! 

Again.  The  yearly  sum  which  those  contribute  at  the 
class  meetings,  who  do  not  pay  even  the  average  amount  be- 
fore mentioned,  is  much  more  considerable  than  any  one 
would  suppose,  without  making  the  calculation.  For  in- 
stance, if  a  member  of  a  Methodist  class  contributes  but  six 
and  a  quarter  cents  a  week,  it  will  amount  to  eighty-one  and 
a  quarter  cents  per  quarter,  or  three  dollars  and  twenty-five 
cents  per  annum:  and  if  there  are  three  of  them  in  the  fami- 
ly, they  pay,  unitedly,  two  dollars  and  forty-three  and  a  quar- 
ter cents  per  quarter,  or  nine  dollars  and  seventy-five  cents  a 


FINANCIAL  MEASURES. 


197 


year — which  is  considerably  more  than  the  average  rent  of 
a  half  pew,  capable  of  accomodating  the  same  number  of 
persons,  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  referred  to  ! 

It  should  be  observed,  that  hitherto  we  have  taken  the 
average  price  of  the  pews  in  the  Third  Presbyterian  Church 
in  this  city.  But  many  of  them  rent  for  much  less  than  the 
average  amount  stated.  In  fact,  there  are  no  less  than  seventy 
two  pew's,  or  very  nearly  one  half  of  the  whole  number  in  the 
church  referred  to,  which  rent  for  less  than  the  average  sum 
before  mentioned.  Some  of  them  rent  as  low  as  $S  per  an- 
num— and  from  that  to  $10 — $12,  and  upwards.  A  fami- 
ly consisting  of  three  adult  persons,  may  therefore  rent  a  half 
pew,  which  would  amply  accommodate  them,  for  four  dol- 
lars a  year — which  would  be  one  dollar  per  quarter,  and  be- 
tween seven  and  eight  cents  a  week — or,  for  each  person, 
less  than  three  cents  a  week  !  Now,  how  few  mem- 
bers there  are,  of  Methodist  classes,  who  pay  less  than  three 
cents  a  week  ! — and  yet,  for  this  amount,  any  individual  may 
obtain  a  rented  seat  in  the  Presbyterian  Church! — Or,  to  state 
the  case  in  another  form,  if  three  individuals  contribute  each 
three  cents  a  week  in  a  Methodist  class,  they  pay  one  dollar 
and  seventeen  cents  a  quarter,  or  four  dollars  and  sixty- 
eight  cents  per  year  for  their  "  free  seats;" — whereas  the 
same  number  may  rent  a  half  pew  in  the  Presbyterian  Church 
for  one  dollar  a  quarter,  or  four  dollars  a  year! 

The  truth  is,  however,  that  many  of  the  poor  families  who 
contribute  at  the  rate  of  three  cents  a  week,  in  the  Method- 
ist Church,  would  not  be  expected  to  rent  a  pew  at  all,  if 
they  attended  the  Presbyterian  Church;  but  would  in  welcome 
occupy  their  seats,  literally  and  truly  "free!" 

In  the  above  calculations,  I  have  not  included  the  or- 
dinary sabbath  collections — subscriptions  towards  building 
churches  and  parsonages — collections  for  missions — the  poor, 


198 


FINANCIAL  MEASURES. 


&c,  &c,  because  these  are  common  to  all  the  evangelical 
denominations.  I  have  not  the  least  doubt,  however,  but 
that  these  general  objects  cost  the  members  of  the  Method- 
ist Church  quite  as  much  as  the  members  of  the  Presbyte- 
rian or  any  other  Christian  church.  Probably  I  should  have 
added  something  to  the  cost  of  Methodist  "  free  seats  !"  on 
account  of  the  building  of  meeting  houses  ;  because,  instead 
of  being  obliged  to  pay  only  for  the  one  they  occupy,  as  the 
members  for  example,  of  a  Presbyterian  congregation  are, 
they  are,  at  least,  in  this  city,  bound,  in  a  peculiar  sense,  to 
pay  for  all  the  Methodist  meeting  houses  which  have  been, 
or  which  may  be  hereafter  erected  within  their  particular 
district  f  And  judging  from  the  number  and  cost  of  such 
buildings  erected  within  a  few  years  past,  the  amount  ne- 
cessary to  pay  for  ihem,  and  which,  according  to  their  sys- 
tem, must  be  raised  from  their  members  generally,  must  be 
very  considerable,  very  ! — It  is  rumoured,  that  some  of  their 
more  wealthy  and  liberal  members,  pay,  in  this  way,  enor- 
mously, for  their  '■'■free  seats"  !  ! — Indeed,  it  is  within  my  own 
personal  knowledge,  that  some  men,  in  very  moderate  cir- 
cumstances, have  been  induced  to  subscribe  amounts,  which 
some  of  our  wealthiest  members  would  regard  as  oppres- 
sive ! 

To  illustrate  still  further,  the  immense  aggregate  amount 
which  may  be  raised,  by  great  numbers,  in  small  weekly 
contributions,  let  us  suppose  that  each  cf  the  members  in- 
cluded within  the  Baltimore  Conference,  contributes,  on  an 
average,  only  ten  cents  a  week — at  class  meetings — love 
feasts — special  collections,  &c.  &c.  According  to  their  offi- 
cial Minutes  forlS41 — 2,  there  were  46,844  white  members, 
and  13,526  coloured,  making  a  total  of  60,370: — say  in 
round  numbers  60,000.  Now,  60,000,  each  paying  ten 
cents  a  week,  would  make  $6000  per  week,  and  $312,000 


FINANCIAL  MEASURES. 


199 


per  annum.  This  sum,  divided  by  214,  the  whole  number 
of  travelling  and  superannuated  preachers  reported  as  be- 
longing to  the  Conference,  would  give  upwards  of  one 
thousand  four  hundred  and  fifly  dollars  ($1450)  per  an- 
num to  each  minister,  exclusive  of  the  preachers'  widows 
and  orphans  who  may  be  located  within  their  conference 
bounds,  and  who,  of  course,  come  in  for  their  share. 

Let  us  now  make  an  estimate  for  the  whole  denomination. 
According  to  the  minutes  just  referred  to,  the  whole  num- 
ber of  white  members  was  803,988— coloured  107,296— 
Indians  2,617— making  a  total  of  913,901:— let  us  say 
850,000.  If  that  number  contribute,  on  an  average,  but 
Jive  cents  a  week,  in  their  respective  classes,  it  will  amount, 
in  the  aggregate,  to  two  millions  two  hundred  and  ten  thou- 
sand dollars  ($2,210,000,)  per  annum  ! 

If  the  same  number  contribute,  on  an  average,  ten  cents, 
at  each  of  the  quarterly  love  feasts,  it  will  amount,  in  the 
aggregate,  to  three  hundred  and  forty  thousand  dollars 
($340,00)  a  year ! 

If  the  same  number  contribute,  on  an  average,  a  single 
dollar  in  the  course  of  a  year,  towards  the  various  special 
subscriptions  and  collections  which  are  so  common  among 
that  denomination  in  behalf  of  their  preachers  and  families, 
it  would  amount,  in  the  aggregate,  to  eight  hundred  and  fif- 
ty thousand  dollars  ($850,000)  per  annum  ! 

At  this  rate,  from  these  three  sources,  alone,  viz.  class 
meetings,  love  feasts,  and  special  collections,  there  would  be 
realized  the  immense  sum  of  THREE  MILLIONS  FOUR 
HUNDRED  THOUSAND  DOLLARS  ($3,400,000)  PER 
YEAR  !  ! — a  very  handsome  revenue,  certainly,  to  be  divid- 
ed among  about  4,000  preachers  and  their  widows  and 
orphans ! 


200 


FINANCIAL  MEASURES. 


And  if  we  add  to  this,  the  large  profits  of  their  "  book 
concern,"  and  their  various  periodicals,  and  the  receipts  of 
their  local  preachers'  aid  societies,  and  associations  for  the 
relief  of  the  widows  and  orphans  of  deceased  Methodist 
ministers, — the  grand  total  would  be  vastly  augmented  ! — 
"Whether  the  estimates,  as  far  as  given,  are  too  high,  or  too 
low,  the  reader  is  to  judge  for  himself.  He  has  the  data  be- 
fore him,  and  can  form  his  own  opinion. 

Now  let  us  contrast  these  methods  of  "  raising  supplies," 
■with  the  system  adopted  by  the  Presbyterian  Church.  I 
have  already  remarked,  that  each  Presbyterian  congregation 
elect  their  own  pastor,  and  determine  his  salary.  To  raise 
the  amount  thus  promised  to  their  minister,  as  well  as  to  aid 
in  defraying  the  incidental  expenses  of  their  church,  it  is 
customary  to  rent  the  pews,  at  prices  fixed  by  the  Board  of 
Trustees,  and  so  graduated  as  to  suit  the  various  circum- 
stances of  the  families  composing  the  congregation.  In 
general,  the  rents  of  the  pews,  together  with  the  ordinary 
sabbath  collections,  are  the  only  sources  of  revenue  to  pay 
the  pastor's  salary  and  all  other  expenses  connected  with  the 
maintenance  of  public  worship.  In  some  country  parishes, 
instead  of  renting  pews,  they  raise  what  they  can  by  annual 
subscription;  and  sometimes,  when  the  ordinary  revenue 
falls  short,  special  collections  are  made,  to  supply  as  far  as 
possible  the  deficiency.  But,  in  general,  the  Presbyterian 
Churches  are  pewed,  and  the  rent  accruing  from  them  is  their 
only  source  of  revenue  with  which  to  meet  the  salary  of 
their  pastors; — the  ordinary  sabbath  collections  being  seldom 
sufficient  to  meet  the  incidental  expenses. 

I  have  stated  that,  the  average  rent  of  the  pews  in  the 
Third  Presbyterian  Church  in  Baltimore,  is  precisely  $18,29£ 
per  annum;  each  pew  being  capable  of  seating  at  least  six 


FINANCIAL  MEASURES. 


201 


adult  persons;  and  that  consequently,  the  average  cost  of  a 
single  seat,  is  about  $3  per  year.  "What  is  the  precise 
average  actually  paid  by  the  communicants  who  are  pew 
holders,  it  would  require  a  good  deal  of  trouble  to  as- 
certain, because  some  of  the  pews  are  vacant — some  are 
rented  by  persons  not  communicants — some  communicants 
have  whole  pews,  others  halves,  &c. — and  some  of  them  do 
not  pay  any  rent  at  all.  Many  of  the  vacant  pews  are  those 
which  are  considered  the  least  eligible,  and  of  course  are 
the  cheapest.  Taking,  however,  the  whole  of  the  actual 
proceeds  from  the  pews  occupied  by  communicants  and  non- 
communicants,  and  distributing  the  amount  among  the  whole 
number  of  the  communicants  attached  to  the  church,  I  find 
that  the  average,  to  each  communicant,  would  be  about  four 
dollars  ($4)  per  year.  In  other  words,  if  all  the  pews  were 
actually  rented,  the  average  of  each  seat  would  be  about 
three  dollars  ($3)  a  year: — as  it  is,  the  more  costly,  because 
the  more  eligible  pews  being  rented,  the  amount  actually 
paid  by  the  present  pew  holders,  communicants  and  non- 
communicants,  if  divided  among  the  whole  number  of  com- 
municants exclusively,  would  be  about  four  dollars  ($4) 
each  yearly.  If  we  were  to  subtract  from  this  what  is  paid 
by  non-communicant  pew  holders,  the  average  actually  paid 
by  the  communicants  would  be  of  course  so  much  less.  Let 
us  however  adopt  this  sum  for  the  purpose  of  estimating 
what  would  be  at  the  same  rate,  the  aggregate  amount  col- 
lected from  the  total  number  of  communicants  within  the 
bounds  of  the  Presbytery  of  Baltimore,  according  to  the  last 
published  report: — apprizing  the  reader  that  the  returns  as 
published  in  the  minutes  are  very  imperfect,  and  again  re- 
minding him  that  many  persons  are  pew  holders,  who  are 
not  communicants.  ; 
26 


202 


FINANCIAL  MEASURES. 


According  to  the  minutes  of  J 842,  (the  last  published,) 
the  total  number  of  communicants  within  the  bounds  of  the 
Presbytery  of  Baltimore  is  1466.  The  reports  from  the 
churches  under  the  care  of  this  Presbytery  were,  however, 
unusually  imperfect  the  last  year,  as  to  the  number  of  com- 
municants. I  have  good  reason  for  supposing,  that  the  to- 
tal number  is  about  2000;  which,  at  $4  each,  would  be 
$8000.  If  we  divide  this  aggregate  by  23,  the  total  num- 
ber of  ministers,  it  will  give  to  each  three  hundred  and 
forty-seven  dollars  and  eighty-two  cents  ($347,82)  per  an- 
num ! 

It  will  be  remembered  that,  in  the  estimate  which  we 
made  of  the  receipts  of  the  entire  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  we  deducted  fifty  per  cent,  from  the  alleged  average 
class  meeting  contributions  in  this  city — because  much  less 
is  generally  received  from  the  members  in  the  country,  than 
from  those  residing  in  the  larger  towns  and  cities.  To  make 
the  comparison  fairly,  we  must  of  course  throw  off  the  same 
discount  in  reference  to  the  whole  Presbyterian  Church. 
According  to  the  minutes  of  1842,  the  total  number  of  com- 
municants in  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States, 
is  140,433;  which  at  $2  each,  would  make  $280,806.  If 
we  divide  this  aggregate  by  1508,  the  whole  number  of  min- 
isters, it  will  give  to  each  one  hundred  and  eighty-six  dollars 
and  twenty-five  cents  ($186,25)  per  year! 

Or,  suppose  we  make  no  reduction  for  the  country  churches, 
and  take  the  sum  which  we  certainly  know  is  more  than 
what  is  actually  paid,  on  an  average,  by  the  communicants 
of  the  Third  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  city  of  Baltimore — 
the  account  would  then  stand  thus: — Total  number  of 
communicants  140433,  which,  at  $4  each,  would  make 
$561,732.    This,  divided  by  1508,  would  give  three  hun- 


FINANCIAL  MEASURES. 


203 


died  and  sevenhj-tioo  dollars  and  fifty  cents  ($372,50)  to 
each  Presbyterian  minister  per  year  ! 

Now,  it  is  not  pretended  that  these  estimates  are  exact — 
for  all  that  can  be  done  is  to  approximate  the  truth.  The 
data,  and  the  explanatory  remarks,  are  before  the  reader,  and 
he  may  form  his  own  opinion.  Certain  I  am,  that,  upon  a 
comparison  of  the  two  systems,  he  must  be  convinced,  that 
the  Methodist  "  free  seats,"  yield  a  much  larger  revenue,  in 
proportion  to  the  number  of  communicants,  than  do  the 
"rented  pews"  of  Presbyterian  churches! 

But  it  may  be  inquired,  if  the  pew  system  yields  so  much 
less  revenue  than  the  other,  why  do  Presbyterians  adhere  to 
it  ?  I  reply,  that  we  willingly  forego  great  pecuniary  advan- 
tages for  the  sake  of  others,  which  we  consider  of  far  great- 
er importance.  Some  of  the  reasons  which  induce  us  to  pre- 
fer the  pew  system  are  the  following: — 

It  is  much  more  convenient.  Each  family  having  their 
own  pew,  they  can  always  procure  their  seats,  without  be- 
ing excluded  by  others,  or  uncomfortably  crowded  in  them. 
They  need  not  go  an  hour  or  two  before  the  time,  in  order 
to  get  seats,  or  incommode  others  by  crowding  into  seats  al- 
ready sufficiently  filled. 

It  is  much  more  conducive  to  right  family  government 
and  discipline.  As  each  family  sit  together  in  the  same  pew, 
the  parents  can  of  course  see  whether  their  children  are  in 
church  or  not — whether,  if  they  are  present,  they  are  awake 
or  asleep — attentive  or  inattentive — orderly  or  disorderly, 
and  can  exercise  such  authority  and  discipline  as  their  con- 
duct may  require. 

The  pew  system,  moreover,  is  much  more  conducive  to 
the  order  and  decency  becoming  the  house  of  God.  Where 
families  sit  together  and  the  sexes  are  unseparated,  even  the 
worst  disposed  are  necessarily  restrained  in  their  conduct 


204 


FINANCIAL  MEASURES. 


during  public  worship — for  no  man  would  dare  to  be  guilty 
of  any  indecorum  towards  a  lady  in  the  presence  of  her 
husband,  father,  or  brother.  And  as  they  leave  the  church 
together,  there  is  no  opportunity  for  wives  and  daughters  to 
be  insulted,  by  persons  crowding  around  the  doors  under  the 
pretext  of  waiting  for  their  scattered  companions!  We  never 
witness  any  confusion  or  disorder  in  our  houses  of  worship, 
and  never  heard  of  any  insult  being  offered  to  any  one  in 
leaving  them;  and  we  ascribe  the  quietude  and  order  of  our 
congregations  in  a  great  measure  to  our  pew  system.  We 
need  no  watchers  to  prevent  disorder  in  our  churches — nor 
do  we  ever  require  the  police  to  interfere  for  the  purpose  of 
preventing  or  suppressing  a  riot !  The  ladies  of  our  con- 
gregations are  not  required  to  wait  until  they  are  discovered 
by  their  protectors  after  the  service,  or  made  to  pass  from  the 
house  of  God  through  a  long  double  file  of  men,  to  be  gazed 
at  by  the  impudent,  or  elbowed,  pulled,  and  otherwise  insult- 
ed by  the  vicious  !  I  have  no  doubt  but  that  the  pious  mem- 
bers of  Methodist  churches  and  all  orderly  persons  connect- 
ed with  their  societies,  discountenance,  and  endeavour,  as 
far  as  possible,  to  prevent  the  monstrous  evils  to  which  I 
have  alluded  :  but  they  are  not  able  wholly  to  prevent  them, 
nor  will  they  ever  be,  as  long  as  they  adhere  to  their  "  free 
seats,"  or  to  the  'separation  of  families  in  their  meeting 
houses. 

The  truth  is,  that  many  of  the  Methodist  people  them- 
selves are  painfully  convinced  of  the  evils  of  "  free  seats," 
and  are  fully  satisfied  of  the  superior  advantages  of  the  pew 
system.  Indeed  it  is  said  that  in  many  of  the  northern  and 
eastern  states  they  have  long  had  pewed  churches  ;  and  but 
recently  such  a  church  was  erected  by  .Methodists  in  the  city 
of  Philadelphia.  And  if  we  may  rely  upon  public  rumour, 
there  are  some  in  this  city  who  have  also  determined  upon 


FINANCIAL  MEASURES. 


205 


erecting  a  pewed  church !  I  think  it  not  unlikely  that  the 
pew  system  would  be  generally  adopted  among  them,  if  they 
could  collect  the  rent  weekly,  instead  of  quarterly,  or  semi- 
annually, and  thus  realize  as  much  money  as  they  at  present 
do  from  their  weekly  class  meetings.  True,  many  of  them 
now  magnify  their  "  free  seats,"  and  inveigh  against  rented 
pews.  But  the  time  was  when  many  of  them  used  to  thank 
God  that  their  preachers  were  not  "  made  ministers" — 
"  college  bred  ministers,"  &c,  and  yet  now  they  have  their 
colleges  and  seminaries — such  as  they  are — and  appear  by 
no  means  ashamed  of  those  among  their  clergy  who  have 
been  "educated  for  their  clerical  profession!"  And  why 
may  we  not  anticipate  the  general  introduction  of  the  pew 
system  among  them  ?  especially  if,  in  connection  with  their 
weekly  classes,  they  can  make  it  equally  profitable  ?  And  if 
the  pew  system  should  be  generally  adopted  by  them,  why 
not  the  permanent  settlement  of  pastors?  We  shall  see. 
Hear  what  some  Methodists  can  say  in  favour  of  the  pew 
system,  when  they  have  resolved  actually  to  adopt  it. — I 
quote  from  the  printed  "  Constitution  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Trinity  Church  of  Philadelphia,"  pp.  7  and  8 : — 
"  Introduction.  The  project  of  erecting  a  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  to  be  furnished  with  pews,  has  long  been 
entertained  by  a  number  of  the  members  of  the  church  in 
this  city.  No  decided  movement  calculated  to  promote  the 
measure  was  made,  however,  until  early  in  the  present  year," 
(1841,)  "when,  after  a  free  interchange  of  sentiment  on 
the  subject,  it  was  agreed  that  a  meeting  of  persons  friendly 
to  the  object  should  be  held,  for  joint  conference  and  advice 
in  the  matter.  This  meeting  convened  on  the  evening  of 
Tuesday,  February  2d,  and  was  opened  with  prayer  by  the 
Rev.  John  Kennaday.    The  Rev.  James  Smith,  presiding 


206 


FINANCIAL  MEASURES. 


elder,  acted  as  chairman,  and  John  Wetherill,  jr.,  as  sec- 
retary. 

"  The  strong  feeling  in  favour  of  a  pewed  church  mani- 
fested at  this  meeting,  and  the  high  degree  of  encourage- 
ment offered,  led  to  the  adoption  of  immediate  measures  for 
carrying  out  the  plan.  Committees  were  appointed  to  enter 
into  preliminary  arrangements  and  inquire  as  to  the  prospect 
of  obtaining  subscribers  to  the  stock,  and  in  the  course  of  a 
very  few  days,  so  liberal  was  the  support  offered,  and  so 
gratifying  the  approval  expressed  by  numbers  who  were 
spoken  to  on  the  subject,  that  the  immediate  erection  of  a 
church  with  pews  was  deemed  to  be  fully  authorized,  and  that 
too,  under  circumstances  of  the  most  auspicious  character. 

"  The  friends  of  this  measure,  which,  though  new  in  Phil- 
adelphia, has  long  been  satisfactorily  tested  in  the  northern 
and  eastern  conferences  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
as  well  as  by  the  Wesleyan  Methodists  of  England,  believe 
that,  by  the  erection  of  a  pewed  church,  the  following  ad- 
vantages will,  under  the  blessing  of  Providence,  be  enjoyed 
and  secured,  viz.: 

"  1.  Parents  will  be  enabled  to  be  seated  with  their  fami- 
lies and  friends,  during  divine  worship,  and  thus  have  the 
immediate  charge  of  their  children ;  a  measure  eminently 
calculated  to  promote  order  and  good  behaviour. 

" 2.  The  inconvenience  of  crowded  seats,  often  painful 
to  persons  in  delicate  health,  and  the  difficulty  of  procuring 
a  place,  will  be  avoided,  and  the  satisfaction  enjoyed  of 
having,  as  a  matter  of  right,  a  particular  seat  in  the  church, 
which  may  be  occupied  under  all  circumstances  without 
infringing  on  the  comforts  of  others. 

"  3.  The  cause  of  true  religion,  under  God's  favour,  will 
be  promoted,  in  extending  the  tidings  of  the  gospel  of 


FINANCIAL  MEASURES. 


207 


Christ  to  a  class  of  hearers  who  are  averse  to  visiting  Meth- 
odist churches,  simply  because  they  cannot  secure  a  seat  of 
their  oivn — many  such  having  already  agreed  to  occupy  pews 
in  Trinity  Church." 

On  page  10,  there  is  the  following  note: — ''Trinity 
Church  is  regularly  attached  to  the  Philadelphia  Confer- 
ence, and  the  society  is,  in  all  respects,  governed  by  the 
Discipline  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  this  coun- 
try. The  Rev.  John  Kennaday  was  appointed  pastor  by 
the  last  Conference." 

Now,  what  more  need  be  said  in  favour  of  pewed  church- 
es, than  what  has  been  said,  in  print,  by  the  members  of  the 
"  Methodist  Episcopal  Trinity"  (pewed)  "  Church  of  Phil- 
adelphia ?"  Certainly,  the  first  two  reasons  which  they 
have  assigned,  if  there  were  no  others,  are  quite  sufficient : 
and  I  would  advise  Presbyterians,  when  they  hear  the  advo- 
cates of  "  free  seats"  inveighing  against  rented  pews,  to 
quote  them  the  language  of  their  Methodist  brethren  of 
Philadelphia — presuming  that  their  testimony,  even  without 
an  "  endorser,"  will  be  "  satisfactory  !" 

I  will  merely  add,  while  on  this  topic,  that  no  stranger 
should  be  prevented  from  entering  a  pewed  church  from  fear 
of  being  considered  an  intruder.  I  am  aware  that  great 
efforts  are  sometimes  made  to  prejudice  persons  against  such 
churches,  on  the  ground  that,  as  they  are  not  pew-holders, 
they  would  not  be  welcome  !  Such  misrepresentations  are 
slanderous.  Let  any  stranger  enter  one  of  our  pewed 
churches,  and  he  will  find  no  gentleman — much  less  a 
Christian — unwilling  to  accommodate  him  in  his  pew.  In- 
deed, it  is  common  for  our  Boards  of  Trustees,  to  appoint 
committees,  who,  in  rotation,  take  their  stations  at  the  doors 
of  the  church,  for  the  express  purpose  of  furnishing  Strang- 


208 


FINANCIAL  MEASURES. 


ers  with  eligible  seats : — such,  certainly,  is  the  practice  in 
the  Third  Presbyterian  Church  in  this  city.  And  if  any 
family  desire  habitually  to  worship  with  us,  and  yet  are 
unable  to  pay  the  rent  of  a  pew,  they  will  always  be  able  to 
find  vacant  seats ;  or,  upon  application  to  the  proper  offi- 
cers, they  will  have  particular  pews  assigned  for  their  gratu- 
itous accommodation. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM— ITS  MORAL  MACHIN- 
ERY— RELIGIOUS  CHARACTER  AND  FRUITS. 

Importance  of  distinguishing  between  mere  Excitements  and  true  Reviv- 
als of  Religion. — The  illiterate  character  of  Methodist  preaching  gen- 
erally.— Their  habitual  and  shameful  misrepresentation  of  other  Christ- 
ian churches — their  disparagement  of  the  Christian  character  and  piety 
of  other  denominations. — Methods  employed  by  Methodists  in  collec  ting 
members  into  their  church,  and  in  proselyting  from  oiher  denominations 
— boasting  of  numbers — camp-meetings — protracted  services— enroll- 
ment of  names — prejudicing  serious  and  inquiring  individuals  against 
other  denominations — tampering  with  the  members  of  other  churches 
with  a  view  to  proselyte  them  to  their  sect — special  object  of  their  camp- 
meetings  and  frequent  Excitements  to  proselyte  from  other  churches. — 
The  alleged  efficiency  of  Methodist  preachers  compared  with  the  fruits 
of  Presbyterian  ministers. — Ejjecls  of  Methodism — in  lowering  the 
standard  of  qualification  for  the  Gospel  ministry — the  little  value  they 
place  upon  Christian  instruction — the  perverted  taste  which  Methodism 
creates  for  hearing  the  word  of  God — the  improper  notions  it  begets  in, 
regard  to  divine  truth — its  unhappy  effects  upon  the  world. — Illustrations 
of  the  amazing  credulity  and  gross  fanaticism  of  Methodism. 

Before  I  proceed  to  exhibit  the  "moral  machinery, " 
&c.  of  Methodism,  the  reader  will  indulge  me  with  one  or 
two  preliminary  remarks. 

It  is  a  very  common  device  of  the  advocates  of  certain 
"  revival  measures,"  as  they  are  called,  to  represent  all  who 
oppose  them,  as  being  opposed  to  revivals  of  religion — to 
denounce  those  who  write  and  speak  against  fanaticism,  as 
writing  and  speaking  against  spiritual  and  vital  godliness — 
and  to  represent  all  opposition  to  the  aiders  and  abetters  of 
27 


210 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


such  enthusiasm,  as  opposition  to  God  himself!  !  Bat  we  are 
not,  by  the  grace  of  God,  to  be  deterred  from  our  duty  by  such 
denunciations.  We  have  abundant  evidence,  that  the  "reviv- 
als" produced  by  such  machinery,  are  nothing  but  spurious 
excitements  ;  and  that  their  effects  are  most  disastrous  to 
the  permanent  interests  of  true  religion.  And  just  in  pro- 
portion as  we  value  genuine  revivals,  we  feel  it  to  be  incum- 
bent on  us,  to  guard  them,  as  far  as  possible,  against  corrup- 
tion and  abuse.  Pure  revivals  are  too  important  to  the  pros- 
perity of  Zion,  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  salvation  of  souls, 
to  be  allowed  silently  to  degenerate  into  mere  fanatical  com- 
motions, evanescent  in  their  duration,  it  is  true,  but  in  their 
effects,  permanently  and  widely  injurious  both  to  the  church 
and  the  world.  We  are,  God  knoweth,  the  earnest  advocates 
of  scriptural  revivals  of  religion — we  sincerely  labour  and  pray 
for  their  promotion — we  rejoice  whenever  we  hear  of  them 
from  any  part  of  Christendom — and  it  has  been  graciously 
vouchsafed  to  the  writer,  more  than  once,  to  thank  God  for 
their  existence  and  blessed  results  under  his  own  ministra- 
tions of  the  gospel :  and,  therefore,  it  is,  that  we  so  earnest- 
ly oppose  all  counterfeits,  and  feel  it  to  be  our  duty  to  expose 
the  machinery  by  which  they  are  produced. 

An  additional  reason  for  exposing  these  things  is,  because 
the  members  of  that  denomination  frequently  appeal  to  such 
commotions,  as  evidences  of  the  superior  usefulness  and  pie- 
ty of  their  church — and  represent  those  churches,  in  which 
such  excitements  do  not  exist,  as  being  destitute  of  "the  life 
and  power  of  godliness."  It  is  true  that,  with  those  who 
have  been  properly  instructed — who  are  able  to  discriminate 
between  true  and  false  religion — and  who  have  had  an  op- 
portunity of  judging  between  the  permanent  results  of  a  gen- 
uine and  spurious  revival,  such  representations,  or  rather 
misrepresentations,  can  have  but  little  effect.    But  it  is  far 


I'KACTIC  A  L   M  ETHODI  SM. 


211 


otherwise  with  multitudes  who  have  but  little  spiritual  dis- 
cernment and  still  less  Christian  experience.  Such  are  often 
deceived  by  present  specious  appearances,  and  sometimes 
actually  ensnared  before  they  are  made  conscious  of  the  awful 
delusion!  It  is  due  therefore  to  our  own  vindication,  as 
well  as  to  the  interests  of  immortal  souls,  to  exhibit  these 
matters  in  their  true  light. 

It  has  been  my  design  throughout  this  work,  not  mere- 
ly to  present  my  own  individual  opinions  and  impressions, 
but  also  to  exhibit  the  -proof  of  the  facts  in  the  case,  either 
from  official  and  authentic  documents,  or  the  testimony  of  in- 
telligent, pious  and  unimpeachable  witnesses.  In  accord- 
ance with  this,  I  shall  now  present  the  testimony  of  one, 
who,  it  will  be  seen,  has  the  very  best  of  "endorsers" — and 
whose  statements  have  been  corroborated  by  many  other  in- 
dividuals. The  articles  entitled  "Practical  Methodism," 
from  which  I  shall  quote,  were  originally  published  in  the 
Philadelphia  "Christian  Advocate,"  edited  by  the  Rev.  Ash- 
bel  Gi-een,  D.  D.  L.  L.  D. — for  many  years  the  respected 
Pastor  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church,  in  the  city  of 
Philadelphia,  and  subsequently  the  venerated  President  of 
the  College  of  New  Jersey  at  Princeton.  The  learned,  pi- 
ous, and  patriarchal  editor,  thus  introduces  the  writer  to  his 
readers: — 

"Editorial  Remarks. — We  have  seen,  for  a  considera- 
ble time  past — and  we  have  seen  it  with  sincere  and  deep 
regret — that  we  could  not  redeem  our  pledge  to  defend,  to  the 
extent  of  our  ability,  the  Presbyterian  Church  against  unjust 
attacks,  nor  sustain,  as  Ave  understand  it,  the  character  of  a 
Christian  Advocate,  without  making  some  unpleasant  stric- 
tures on  our  Methodist  brethren.  They  have  openly  and 
frequently,  from  the  press  and  the  pulpit,  indulged  in  bitter 
invectives,  against  the  doctrines,  the  ministers,  and  the  or- 
der of  the  Presbyterian  Church.    We  have  hitherto  borne 


212 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


this  without  any  reply;  and  it  is  not  our  intention  now,  to  do 
more  than  permit  our  correspondent  to  exhibit  to  the  readers 
of  our  miscellany,  some  of  the  bad  features  of  what  he  calls 
practical  Methodism.  We  think  that  such  things  as  he  has 
hitherto  noticed  are,  to  say  the  least,  not 'lovely  and  of  good 
report,'  and  that  as  such  they  ought  to  be  publicly  exposed; 
and  we  believe  that  in  doing  this  we  render  a  service  to  gen- 
uine Christianity,  and  do  all  that  is  necessary  at  present  to 
the  defence  of  the  church  to  which  we  belong — 

'Vice  is  a  monster  of  such  odious  mien, 
As  to  be  hated  needs  but  to  be  seen.' 

"Our  correspondent  professes  to  speak  of  what  he  has 
personally  known;  and  we  know  him  too  well  to  doubt  the  truth 
of  his  statements.  We  understand  him  to  say,  that  although 
the  practices  which  he  condemns  are  general  in  the  Methodist 
communion;  yet  that  there  are  individuals  (we  would  hope  a 
goodly  number)  who  neither  approve  of  nor  indulge  in  them." 
—  Ch.  Ad.  vol.  vni.  p.  474. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  series,  the  venerable  editor  ad- 
vertises his  readers  as  follows: — 

"A  very  respectable  and  truly  esteemed  member  of  the 
Methodist  communion,  called  on  the  editor,  and  at  his  re- 
quest stated  what  occurred  at  the  time,  as  subjects  of  com- 
plaint, in  the  papers  entitled  'Practical  Methodism.'  The 
statements  of  the  complainant  were  written  down  in  his 
presence,  and  read  to  him  by  the  editor,  that  their  correct- 
ness might  be  unquestionable;  and  a  promise  was  made,  that, 
if  conviction  of  error  should  ensue,  the  errors  should  be 
promptly  acknowledged,  and  publicly  corrected. 

"The  items  of  complaint,  were,  as  soon  as  practicable, 
transmitted  to  the  author  of  the  papers  in  question,  and  he 
was  asked  to  say  what  he  could  in  his  own  vindication.  In 
the  mean  time,  the  editor  carefully  inquired  of  all  who  he 
supposed  could  give  information  relative  to  the  points  com- 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


213 


plained  of;  and  he  had  opportunities  to  do  so,  from  individu- 
als of  candour,  reputation  and  intelligence,  from  many  parts 
of  the  country,  both  far  distant  and  near  at  hand.  He  also 
received  letters,  in  which  voluntary,  unsolicited  observations 
were  made  on  the  papers  entitled  '  Practical  Methodism,'  so 
far  as  they  had  then  appeared  in  the  Advocate;  and  the  whole 
had  appeared,  except  the  one"  [the  last]  "  to  which  these 
remarks  are  subjoined.  The  result  has  been,  a  more  com- 
plete and  satisfactory  conviction  in  the  mind  of  the  editor, 
than  he  feared  the  subject  would  admit  of,  that  nothing  has 
appeared  in  his  pages  that  cannot  be  strictly  verified.  The  re- 
ports, without  one  exception,  have  been,  that  the  statements 
are  unequivocally  true;  and  some  have  gone  farther  in  their 
allegations  than  the  writer  of  'Practical  Methodism.'  **** 

"He"  (the  writer)  "replies  in  detail  to  all  the  other  items 
of  complaint  which  were  transmitted  to  him;  but  it  is  not  ne- 
cessary to  insert  his  particular  replies,  since  in  relation  to  all 
he  has  written,  he  affirms — '  No  fact  has  been  stated,  which  I 
cannot  substantiate.  The  facts  either  passed  under  my  own 
observation,  or  were  narrated  to  me  by  creditable  and  pious 
individuals.  If  facts  are  even  highly  coloured,  it  is  a  fact  of 
which  I  am  not  conscious.  So  far  from  doubting  a  single 
statement  made,  I  have  not  heard  an  individual  say  a  word 
respecting  them, who  did  not  say  that  they  were  similar  to  what 
he  was  called  to  witness  continually.'  This,  it  will  be  per- 
ceived, is  in  exact  accordance  with  the  reports  which,  as  we 
have  stated,  have  been  made  to  us  from  various  quarters.  We 
are  therefore  perfectly  satisfied,  that  we  have  made  no  represen- 
tations that  need  to  be  corrected,  qualified,  or  explained,  beyond 
what  is  now  before  the  reader.'''' — lb.,  vol.  IX.,  pp.  249 — 50. 

With  the  foregoing  remarks  of  Dr.  Green  before  him,  the 
reader  will  be  prepared  to  appreciate  the' following  extracts 
from  the  articles  referred  to: — 

1 .  The  illiterate  character  of  Methodist  preaching. — "  One 


214 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


of  ihe  first  characteristics  of  their  preaching  is,  that  it  com- 
municates little  or  no  instruction.  This  is  owing  to  two 
causes;  the  illiteracy  of  their  preachers,  and  the  little  value 
they  place  upon  evangelical  truth,  as  a  means  of  conversion 
and  sanctification.  However,  in  theory,  some  of  this  de- 
nomination may  value  learning  and  biblical  truth,  I  am  per- 
suaded that  practical  Methodism,  speaking  of  it  at  large, 
disregards  both.  And  the  fact  that  a  man  has  passed  through 
a  preparatory  course  of  instruction  for  the  ministry,  is,  in 
many  parts  of  the  country,  a  strong  argument  against  him. 
And  that  preacher  who  addresses  himself  to  the  understand- 
ing, and  who,  through  the  understanding  only,  attempts  to 
call  up  the  affections,  is  usually  unpopular,  and  considered 
jejune.  With  the  multitude  of  the  denomination,  the  best 
possible  recommendations,  for  the  gospel  ministry,  are  strong 
lungs,  excitable  feelings,  a  ready  flow  of  words,  and  a  great 
show  of  zeal. 

"  To  be  satisfied  of  the  truth  here  stated,  nothing  more  is 
necessary  than  to  attend  their  places  of  worship  a  few  times. 
It  will  immediately  appear  that  there  is  an  evident  attempt 
.  to  excite  the  feelings,  and  to  arrest  attention;  but  you  will 
rarely  hear  the  text  explained,  its  connexion  given,  its  diffi- 
culties removed,  or  the  truth  it  inculcates  clearly  stated. 
And  if  ever  these  are  attempted,  so  great  a  lack  of  ability 
will  usually  be  discovered,  as  to  induce  you  from  the  heart, 
to  wish  that  the  preacher  had  tarried  at  Jericho  a  little 
longer.  I  recollect,  not  long  since,  hearing  a  circuit  preach- 
er *  preach  from  the  text,  '  Keep  thy  heart  with  all  dilligence, 

*  The  writer  here  used  the  common  expression,  "  circuit  rider" — but  as 
it  appears  this  phrase  was  complained  of,  in  order  to  avoid  unnecessary- 
offence,  I  have  taken  the  liberty  (notwithstanding  the  satisfactory  expla- 
nation which  was  given  for  its  use)  of  substituting  the  word  "preacher' 
— and  will  do  the  same  in  the  other  instances  in  which  the  obnoxious  so- 
briquet is  employed. 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


215 


for  out  of  it  are  the  issues  of  life.'  The  following  was  his 
exegesis  of  the  passage.  1  Here,'  said  he,  '  the  heart  is 
compared  to  a  vessel,  kept  together  with  hoops.  If  the 
hoops  become  loose,  or  the  staves  shrink,  the  water  in  the 
vessel  will  issue  out.  So  it  is  with  the  heart.  Unless  it  is 
kept  with  dilligence,  the  life  will  issue  out  of  it,  and  then 
you  will  be  destitute  of  life.'  The  few  hearers  present 
thought  this  explanation  wondrous  clear.  And  this  want  of 
instruction  from  the  pulpit,  is  clearly  discoverable  among  the 
people.  They  become  attached  to  a  few  cant  phrases,  and 
to  a  few  peculiar  doctrines;  but  the  accession  which  they 
make  to  their  stock  of  Bible  knowledge  is  exceedingly  limit- 
ed. Thus  the  truth  of  the  adage  is  clearly  exemplified — 
'  like  priest,  like  people.''  I  venture  to  say  that  there  is  no 
class  of  protestant  Christians  so  generally  ignorant  of  the 
Bible,  or  of  the  connexion  and  bearing  of  its  solemn  and 
eternal  truths,  as  those  of  this  denomination." — Ch.  Ad., 
vol.  VIII.,  pp.  471  and  2. 

The  above  allegations  are  general,  and  of  course  admit  of 
honourable  exceptions — as  the  writer  has  acknowledged. 
It  should  be  recollected  also,  that  their  best  qualified  minis- 
ters are  usually  appointed  to  city  stations  or  the  larger  towns 
— and  in  these,  doubtless,  their  people  are  better  instructed. 
But  taking  the  country  at  large,  or  considering  the  qualifi- 
cations of  their  clergy  as  a  body,  the  foregoing  statements 
are  literally  and  mournfully  true.  And  this  is  the  only  fair 
method  of  forming  a  just  judgment. — No  one  would  be  just- 
ified in  pronouncing  the  ministry  of  a  church  illiterate,  be- 
cause there  are  a  few  individuals  among  them  comparative- 
ly ignorant — and  that  there  are  such,  among  the  clergy  of 
every  denomination,  is  freely  admitted.  So  neither  may  we 
consider  the  Methodist  clergy,  as  a  body,  properly  educated 
and  duly  qualified  for  their  profession,  because  there  are  in- 


216 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


dividuals  among  them  who  have  been  liberally  educated.  It 
is  true — and  I  mention  it  to  their  honour — that,  of  late  years, 
they  appear  to  be  more  friendly  to  an  educated  ministry;  but 
still,  it  is  notorious,  that  the  greater  part  of  them  are  com- 
paratively ignorant  men;  nor  have  they,  as  yet,  as  far  as  I 
know,  so  altered  their  rules,  as  to  require,  ordinarily,  a  libe- 
ral course  of  learning  on  the  part  of  their  candidates  for  the 
sacred  office. 

2.  Their  habitual  and  shameful  misrepresentation  of  other 
Christian  churches. — "Another  characteristic  of  their  preach- 
ing is,  abuse  of  other  denominations  of  Christians.  The 
word  abuse  is,  we  know,  sometimes  applied  to  a  candid  ex- 
amination of  the  opinions  of  those  who  differ  from  us  in 
sentiment.  But  when  the  word  is  so  used,  it  is  itself  abused. 
When  I  say  that  the  Methodists  in  their  preaching  abuse 
other  denominations,  I  employ  the  word  in  its  ligitimate 
sense.  I  mean  to  say  that,  for  sectarian  purposes,  they  per- 
vert and  caricature  the  opinions  and  belief  of  their  brethren. 
And  this  is  a  sin,  as  far  as  I  know,  co-extensive  with  Meth- 
odism.— If  there  are  individual  exceptions,  I  have  not  met 
with  them ; — nor  is  it  an  occasional  sin,  nor  a  sin  of  infirmity; 
it  is  habitual,  and  a  sin  in  whose  commission  they  delight. 
And  so  uniform  has  been  this  abuse,  whenever  I  have  heard 
them  preach,  that  I  have  frequently  thought  a  sermon  was 
not  considered  by  them  complete  without  it.  And  then 
such  abuse  !  If  it  was  wit,  or  argument — if  it  displayed 
genius,  or  erudition,  it  could  better  be  borne.  But  such  tor- 
turing of  sentiment — such  absurd  conclusions  as  they  press 
home  upon  their  opponents — such  ignorance  as  they  exhibit 
respecting  the  opinions  they  combat — such  violence  done  to 
all  reason  and  logic  as  they  manifest,  have  been  to  me  truly 
astonishing.  Above  all  things  else,  the  doctrines  of  grace 
are  their  peculiar  abhorrence.    The  divine  decrees  they  re- 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


217 


present  as  excluding  all  agency  on  the  part  of  man — perse- 
verance, according  to  them,  lulls  into  carnal  security;  and  so 
with  all  the  rest.  And  not  only  do  they  charge  these  false 
and  denied  conclusions  upon  Calvinistic  preachers,  but  they 
put  them  into  our  very  creed,  and  proclaim  to  the  world 
that  we  receive  them  with  a  cordial  credence. 

<l  From  doctrines  they  pass  on  to  a  hireling  ministry. 
This  is  with  them  a  very  fruitful  source  of  declamation. 
They  distort  it,  magnify  it,  dwell  upon  it,  until,  in  the  minds 
of  the  ignorant,  they  give  it  some  importance;  and  call  their 
brethren  who  have  stated  salaries  in  the  ministry,  by  the 
charitable  names  of  wolves,  hirelings,  fleece- seekers.  Then 
they  revert  to  themselves,  and  exhibit  themselves  as  the  on- 
ly men  who  have  freely  received,  and  who  freely  give.  Nor 
is  all  this  without  its  effect.  And  this  I  have  known  them 
to  do,  not  unfrequently,  when  their  own  salaries  for  preach- 
ing were  much  greater  than  those  of  the  parties  against 
whom  they  were  declaiming;  and  when,  as  respects  the  de- 
claimed themselves,  it  might  truly  be  said,  their  preaching 
was  not  worth  a  farthing.  Nor  is  this  abusive  warfare  con- 
fined to  one  denomination — it  is  indiscriminate.  It  is  waged 
with  the  Baptist,  the  Episcopalian,  the  Presbyterian; — none 
of  any  Shibboleth  escape  but  those  of  Wesley. 

"  And  then  the  occasion  on  which  this  abuse  is  frequent- 
ly commenced,  greatly  aggravates  the  evil.  We  should  con- 
clude that  our  Methodist  brethren,  who  make  a  high  claim 
to  piety,  and  a  desire  to  promote  the  salvation  of  souls,  never 
would  introduce  controverted  subjects,  so  as  to  turn  the  at- 
tention of  their  hearers  from  the  one  thing  needful  to  dispu- 
tative  doctrines.  But  it  is  far  otherwise.  Wherever,  under 
the  labours  of  other  ministers,  God  is  pouring  out  of  his  bless- 
ed Spirit,  they  are  sure  to  be  there.  If  harmony  prevails, 
the  great  object  is  to  disturb  it.  If  there  are  no  Meth- 
28 


218 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


odists  there,  the  chief*  aim  is  to  make  some.  They  com- 
mence by  preaching  on  doctrines,  and  reviling  the  prevailing 
denomination,  whatever  it  may  be.  If  a  word  is  said  in  op- 
position to  their  measures,  they  cry  out  persecution,  persecu- 
tion; and  on  this  terrific  word  they  ring  the  changes  until,  if 
they  can  effect  it,  a  division  takes  place,  a  party  is  formed, 
and  they  gain  a  footing.  And  this  course  they  pursue,  un- 
til, too  often,  the  candle  of  the  Lord  is  extinguished,  the 
windows  of  heaven  are  closed,  and  the  Spirit  of  grace  with- 
draws his  saving  and  converting  influence.  We  have  known 
of  more  than  one  revival  stayed  in  its  progress,  by  just  such 
a  course  of  conduct  as  this.  It  would  seem  in  such  instan- 
ces, as  if  their  great  object  in  the  ministry  was,  to  make 
converts  to  Methodism;  and  that  to  make  consistent  and  in- 
telligent Christians,  was  an  object  of  only  secondary  import- 
ance."— lb.,  vol.  VIII.,  pp.  473  and  4. 

Let  me  here  give  a  few  specimens,  from  their  oracle,  Wesley, 
of  the  candid,  pious,  and  charitable  language  which  many  of 
them  habitually  employ,  when  speaking  of  the  doctrine  of 
decrees;  held  by  a  large  part  of  Protestant  Christendom,  and 
particularly  by  the  Presbyterian  Church. — I  qnote  from  a 
sermon  by  Mr.  Wesley,  entitled  "Free  Grace,"  contained  in 
the  1st  vol.  of  his  Works,  New  York  edition,  1835: — 

"  But  is  it,"  (the  grace  or  love  of  God)  "  free  for  all, 
as  well  as  in  all?  To  this  some  have  answered," — [who? 
— the  answer  is  included  within  the  usual  marks  of  quota- 
tion, but  without  reference  to  any  author  ! — were  the  commas 
placed  there  to  make  his  readers  believe  that  he  is  quoting 
the  express  language  of  Calvinists  ? — how  very  candid  and 
pious  !  !] — "To  this  some  have  answered,  '  No:  it  is  free  only 
for  those  whom  God  hath  ordained  to  life;  and  they  are  but 
a  little  flock.  The  greater  part  of  mankind  God  hath  ordain- 
ed to  death;  and  it  is  not  free  for  them.    Them,  God  hateth; 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


219 


and  therefore,  before  they  were  born,  decreed  they  should  die 
eternally.  And  this  he  absolutely  decreed;  because  so  was  his 
good  pleasure;  because  it  was  his  sovereign  will.  Accord- 
ingly they  are  born  for  this,  to  be  destroyed  body  and  soul 
in  hell.  And  they  grow  up  under  the  irrevocable  curse  of 
God,  without  any  possibility  of  redemption;  for  what  grace 
God  gives,  he  gives  only  for  this,  to  increase,  not  prevent, 
their  damnation.'' " 

Now  observe — he  does  not  say  that  such  are,  in  his  judg- 
ment, the  logical  inferences  from  the  doctrines  of  Calvinists — 
(that  would  be  odious  enough  !) — but  that  "  some  have  an- 
swered" thus — in  other  words,  such  is  their  own  horrible  and 
impious  belief!  ! — and  that  his  readers  may  be  persuaded  to 
think  so,  the  answer  is  placed  within  inverted  commas,  as 
though  the  words  were  quoted  verbatim  ! !  And  I  have  lit- 
tle doubt  but  that  many  of  his  readers,  and  many  of  his  cler- 
ical followers  too,  have  supposed  that  this  was  a  literal  ex- 
tract from  the  veritable  writings  of  some  horrible  Calvinist !  ! 
and  have  quoted  it,  from  Maine  to  Georgia,  as  demonstra- 
tive proof,  that  Presbyterians  actually  hold  the  sentiments 
which  they  have  habitually  charged  upon  them  !  !  !  But 
what  must  we  think  of  such  conduct  in  Mr.  Wesley  ? — a 
Presbyter  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  "  sometime  Fellow 
of  Lincoln  College,  Oxford  !" — Did  not  he  know  better? — 
I  am  free  to  say  that,  such  instances  of  gross  and  slanderous 
misrepresentation  and  defamation  go  very  far  to  impair  my 
confidence  in  his  general  sincerity  and  piety. 

Again  Mr.  Wesley  says, — a  It  is  a  doctrine  full  of  blas- 
phemy;"— "that  it  represents  our  blessed  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
as  a  hypocrite,  a  deceiver  of  the  people,  a  man  void  of  com- 
mon sincerity;" — ((  as  mocking  his  helpless  creatures;" — 
"  as  weeping  crocodile's  tears  over  the  prey  which  himself 
had  doomed  to.  destruction." — "  It  represents,"  says  he, 


220 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


"  the  most  holy  God  as  worse  than  the  devil,  as  both  more 
false,  more  cruel,  and  more  unjust."  !  !  ! 

And,  to  give  only  one  more  specimen; — in  view  of  the 
representation  which  he  had  just  given  of  the  doctrine, — a 
representation  which  no  intelligent  and  pious  Calvinist  can 
read  without  horror, — he  breaks  out  in  this  strain — "  One 
might  say  to  our  adversary,  the  devil,  'thou  fool,  why  dost 
thou  roar  about  any  longer  ?  Thy  lying  in  wait  for  souls  is 
as  needless  and  useless  as  our  preaching.  Hearest  thou  not, 
that  God  hath  taken  thy  work  out  of  thy  hands;  and  that  he 
doeth  it  much  more  effectually  ?  Thou,  with  all  thy  princi- 
palities and  powers,  canst  only  so  assault  that  we  may  resist 
thee;  but  He  can  irresistibly  destroy  both  body  and  soul  in 
hell !  Thou  canst  only  entice;  but  his  unchangeable  decree,  to 
leave  thousands  of  souls  in  death,  compels  them  to  continue 
in  sin,  till  they  drop  into  everlasting  burnings.  Thou 
temptest;  He  forceth  us  to  be  damned:  for  we  cannot  resist 
His  will.  Thou  fool,  why  goest  thou  about  any  longer, 
seeking  whom  thou  roayest  devour  ?  Hearest  thou  not  that 
God  is  the  devouring  lion,  the  destroyer  of  souls,  the  mur- 
derer of  men?  Moloch  caused  only  children  to  pass  through 
the  fire;  and  that  fire  was  soon  quenched;  or  the  corruptible 
body  being  consumed,  its  torment  was  at  an  end:  but  God, 
thou  art  told,  by  his  eternal  decree,  fixed  before  they  had 
done  good  or  evil,  causes  not  only  children  of  a  span  long, 
but  the  parents  also,  to  pass  through  the  fire  of  hell,  the  '  fire 
which  never  shall  be  quenched:'  and  the  body  which  is  cast 
thereunto,  being  now  incorruptible  and  immortal,  will  be  ever 
consuming  and  never  consumed,  but  '  the  smoke  of  their  tor- 
ment,' because  it  is  God's  good  pleasure,  '  ascendeth  up  for 
ever  and  ever.'  "  !  !  ! 

Such,  gentle  reader,  are  a  few  specimens  of  the  temper- 
ate, pious,  and  candid  manner,  in  which  the  Rev.  John  Wes- 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


221 


ley  and  his  followers  exhibit  "the  doctrines  of  grace,''  as 
held  by  thousands  of  accredited  ministers  of  the  gospel,  and 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  acknowledged  Christians  !  !  It 
is  not  my  present  purpose  to  vindicate  those  precious  doc- 
trines from  these  blasphemous  caricatures  and  shameful  mis- 
representations: this  I  have  done  in  the  lectures  recently  pub- 
lished and  previously  referred  to,  entitled  "  A  Brief  Exposi- 
tion and  Vindication  of  the  Divine  Decrees,  as  taught  in 
the  Assembly's  Larger  Catechism."  My  object  in  citing  the 
foregoing  passages  was,  merely  to  show  the  manner  and 
spirit  in  which  the  Methodists  misrepresent  and  vilify  them. 
And  this,  be  it  remembered,  they  have  persisted  in  doing, 
notwithstanding  their  accusations  have  been  a  thousand  times 
repelled,  and  their  false  inferences  denied  and  refuted  !  No 
doubt  but  they  are  still  employed  in  the  candid,  charitable 
and  righteous  work  of  charging  upon  us,  as  a  part  of  our 
creed,  sentiments  which  we  have  not  only  again  and  again 
disclaimed,  but  in  regard  to  which,  we  have,  in  the  most 
public,  formal  and  solemn  manner,  expressed  our  utmost 
detestation  and  abhorrence. — Nor  will  they  cease  to  urge  in- 
ferences the  most  impious  and  horrible,  from  premises  as- 
sumed by  themselves  and  falsely  attributed  to  us,  with  as 
much  confidence  and  vehemence  as  if  they  had  never  been 
denied  or  refuted  by  us  !  And  all  this,  we  are  well  aware, 
is  not  without  its  popular  effect.  Thousands  of  uninformed 
people  are  thus  persuaded,  that  Presbyterians  do  verily  be- 
lieve that  God  is  more  false,  more  cruel,  and  more  unjust 
than  the  devil !  ! — that  the  non-elect  are  tempted  and  com- 
pelled to  sin  by  the  Almighty  !  ! — and  that  they  are  uncon- 
ditionally and  unavoidably  damned  eternally,  not  on  account 
of  their  voluntary  and  criminal  rejection  of  the  gospel,  but 
solely  by  the  good  pleasure  or  sovereign  will  of  their  arbi- 
trary and  malignant  Creator !  !  ! — Yea,  that  children  a  span 


222 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


long  are  in  hell,  suffering  the  torments  of  unquenchable 
fire  !  !  !  No  marvel  that  multitudes  are  so  prejudiced  against 
Calvinistic  ministers  that  they  will  not  hear  them  preach,— 
or  read,  with  any  thing  like  candour,  what  they  have  to  say 
in  their  own  defence.  And  yet,  to  guard  against  the  possi- 
bility, that  some  might  hear  or  read  for  themselves,  and  so 
be  convinced  of  the  shameful  imposition  which  had  been 
practised  upon  them,  they  issued  an  official  tract,  from  their 
denominational  press  in  New  York,  entitled  "Duplicity 
Exposed  !  "  in  which  they  gravely  assure  their  readers  that, 
although  we  disclaimed  the  sentiments  which  they  had  im- 
puted to  us,  it  was  all  duplicity,  and  was,  therefore,  entitled 
to  no  credit!!!  True,  it  appears  that  public  opinion  would 
not  tolerate  such  an  official,  wholesale,  and  scandalous  libel 
upon  Christian  ministers  and  churches,  and  they  have  been 
compelled  to  withdraw  it  from  public  circulation.  But  the 
preparation  and  publication  of  such  a  tract,  shows  to  what 
lengths  they  have  actually  gone  in  the  unhallowed  work  of 
defamation.  And  I  fear  that,  although  that  particular  tract 
is  no  longer  officially  circulated,  yet  the  slanderous  matter  it 
contained,  is  still  disseminated,  in  other  ways,  by  many  of 
their  bigoted  preachers  and  multitudes  of  their  illiberal  and 
uncharitable  members. — The  Lord  deliver  us  from  the  use 
of  such  carnal  weapons ! — They  may  multiply  proselytes  to 
Arminian  Methodism,  but  it  is  at  an  awful  expense,  truly  ! 
And  what  other  motive,  than  that  of  sheer  sectarian  selfish- 
ness, could  induce  men  thus  to  impair  the  influence  and 
usefulness  of  so  many  accredited  ministers  of  the  gospel  ? — 
Surely,  if  they  were  really  disinterested,  and  more  desirous 
of  the  conversion  of  souls  to  Christ,  than  the  making  of 
proselytes  to  Methodism,  they  would  sincerely  rejoice  to 
learn,  that  their  brethren  disclaim  sentiments,  which  they 
profess  to  hold  in  such  abhorrence;  and  would  cordially  aid 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


223 


in  removing  the  prejudice,  which  themselves  had  unjustly 
created,  against  their  fellow  labourers  in  the  kingdom  of  our 
common  Lord  and  Saviour. 

As  a  set-off  to  the  foregoing  passages  from  the  sermon  of 
Mr.  Wesley,  let  us  show  what  this  same  Mr.  John  Wesley 
could  say  concerning  these  Calvinistic  doctrines — to  serve  a 
purpose — that  is,  when  he  desired  to  conciliate  and  effect  a 
union  between  himself  and  some  of  those  who  held  them. 
To  counteract  the  legitimate  effect  of  this  glaring  inconsist- 
ency, the  editor  of  his  works  remarks,  in  a  note,  that  these 
"  extreme  concessions"  were  made  "  in  the  early  part  of  his 
ministry" — for  peace-sake — and  his  "  strong  desire  to  unite 
with  Mr.  Whitefield."  To  this,  I  reply — Mr.  Wesley  was 
born  in  1703,  and  ordained  in  1725,  and  that  what  follows 
was  written  by  him  in  1743;  so  that  he  was,  at  the  time 
he  wrote,  only  forty  years  of  age  !  and  in  the  eighteenth 
or  nineteenth  year  of  his  ministry  ! — And  as  to  the  object 
assigned,  how  could  that  justify  him  in  making  such  con- 
cessions, if  he  really  believed  the  doctrines  to  be  as  unscrip- 
tural  and  horrible  as  he  at  other  times  and  on  other  occasions 
represented  them  to  be  ? — Was  it  the  failure  to  effect  a  union 
with  those  impious  Calvinists,  which  so  embittered  his  spirit 
against  their  doctrines,  and  which  caused  him  subsequently 
to  write  against  them,  more  like  a  vulgar  and  malignant 
blasphemer,  than  a  Christian  scholar  and  divine  ?  But  let 
us  hear  him  on  this  particular  occasion,  which  constituted  so 
memorable  an  exception  to  his  usual  manner.    His  words  are: 

"  Having  found,  for  some  time,  a  strong  desire  to  unite 
with  Mr.  Whitefield  as  far  as  possible,  to  cut  off  needless 
dispute,  I  wrote  down  my  sentiments,  as  plain  as  I  could,  in 
the  following  terms: — 

"  There  are  three  points  in  debate:  1.  Unconditional  elec- 
tion.   2.  Irresistible  grace.    3.  Final  perseverance. 


224 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


"  With  regard  to  the  first,  unconditional  election,  I  be* 
lieve,  that  God,  before  the  foundation  of  the  world,  did  un- 
conditionally elect  certain  persons  to  do  certain  works,  as 
Paul  to  preach  the  gospel:  that  he  has  unconditionally  elect- 
ed some  nations  to  receive  peculiar  privileges,  the  Jewish 
nation  in  particular:  that  he  has  unconditionally  elected  some 
nations  to  hear  the  gospel,  as  England  and  Scotland  now, 
and  many  others  in  past  ages:  that  he  has  unconditionally 
elected  some  persons  to  many  peculiar  advantages,  both 
with  regard  to  temporal  and  spiritual  things:  and  1  do  not 
deny,  (though  I  cannot  prove  it  is  so,)  thai  he  has  uncondi- 
tionally elected  some  persons  to  eternal  glory.  But  I  cannot 
believe,  that  all  those  who  are  not  thus  elected  to  glory, 
must  perish  everlastingly:"  [Who  does  ? — certainly  Presby- 
terians do  not:]  "  or,  1hat  there  is  one  soul  on  earth,  who 
has  not  ever  had  a  possibility  of  escaping  eternal  damna- 
tion. 

"  With  regard  to  the  second,  irresistible  grace,  I  believe, 
that  the  grace  which  brings  faith,  and  thereby  salvation  into 
the  soul,  is  irresistible  at  that  moment:  That  most  believers 
may  remember  some  time  when  God  did  irresistibly  con- 
vince them  of  sin:  That  most  believers  do,  at  some  other 
times,  find  God  irresistibly  acting  upon  their  souls:  Yet,  I 
believe  that  the  grace  of  God,  both  before  and  after  those 
moments,  may  be,  and  hath  been,  resisted:  and  that,  in  gen- 
eral, it  does  not  act  irresistibly;  but  we  may  comply  there- 
with, or  may  not:  and  I  do  not  deny,  that,  in  some  souls,  the 
grace  of  God  is  so  far  irresistible,  that  they  cannot  but  be- 
lieve, and  be  finally  saved.  But  I  cannot  believe,  that  all 
those  must  be  damned,  in  whom  it  does  not  thus  irresisti- 
bly work:  or,  that  there  is  one  soul  on  earth,  who  has  not, 
and  never  had,  any  other  grace,  than  such  as  does,  in  fact, 
increase  his  damnation,  and  was  designed  of  God  so  to  do." 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


225 


[Who  does  ?— Did  Mr.  Whitefield  ?— Do  Presbyterians  ?— 
Certainly  not.] 

"  With  regard  to  the  third,  final  perseverance,  I  incline  to 
believe,  that  there  is  a  state  attainable  in  this  life,  f cm  which 
a  man  cannot  finally  fall:''''  [This  is  too  strong  for  us  ! — 
We  believe  that  God's  grace  will  prevent  his  people  from 
falling,  so  that  they  will  not — not  that  they  cannot  fall:] 
*  and  that  he  has  attained  this,  who  can  say,  '  old  things  are 
passed  away;  all  things' in  me  1  are  become  new.''" — 'Wes- 
ley's Works,  vol.  III.,  p.  289. 

I  need  not  add  any  thing  to  what  the  writer  of  "  Practi- 
cal Methodism"  has  said,  respecting  the  invidious  corn  pari* 
sons  which  Methodist  preachers  are  in  the  habit  of  making 
between  their  u  ministerial  support"  and  that  of  others,  as  I 
have  abundantly  exposed  the  injustice  of  such  comparisons 
in  a  preceding  chapter.  I  will  therefore  proceed  to  extract 
what  he  says  on  the  subject  following,  viz: 

3.  Their  disparagement  of  the  Christian  character  and 
piety  of  other  denominations. — "  The  time  was,  when  our 
Methodist  brethren  made  a  great  show  of  charity — it  was, 
when  they  were  far  less  numerous  than  they  are  at  present; 
and  when  they  were  compelled  to  conceal  their  real  feelings, 
in  order  to  make  any  progress.  And  this  show  of  charity, 
under  certain  circumstances,  is  not  unfrequently  made  even 
now.  When  they  enter  a  place  where  any  other  Sect  is 
dominant  and  popular,  they  are  very  conciliating  in  public; 
they  preach  only  on  the  acknowledged  doctrines;  they  talk 
much  about  charity,  and  brotherly  love;  and  yet,  too  often, 
are  at  this  very  time,  profuse  of  their  invective  in  private. 
Indeed  it  is  not  going  beyond  the  truth  to  say,  that  there  are 
not  a  few  of  them  who  can  assume  almost  any  hue,  to  suit 
circumstances. 
29 


226 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


"  They  appear  to  believe  that  all  but  themselves  are  very 
•worldly  minded.  In  the  avowal  of  this  opinion  they  make 
no  hesitation  whatever.  They  point  to  their  broad  hats,  and 
plain  bonnets,  and  straight  coats,  as  evidences  of  their  cru- 
cifixion to  the  world,  and  of  their  want  of  conformity  to  its 
fashions  and  vanities;  and  they  refer  to  the  more  becoming, 
though  not  more  expensive  dress  of  others,  as  a  convincing 
testimony  that  their  hearts  are  filled  with  vanity.  So  much 
do  they  permit  their  minds  to  dwell  upon  these  trifling  mat- 
ters, that  they  suppose  their  friends,  who  attach  themselves 
to  other  churches,  are  and  must  be  actuated  only  by  world- 
ly motives.  They  also  think  and  proclaim,  that  the  minis- 
ters of  other  denominations  make  their  sacred  vocation 
merely  a  profession;  and  enter  it  because  they  like  it  better 
than  law  or  medicine,  and  have  no  other  object  than  to  make 
a  living.  And  so  much  do  their  'itinerants'  dwell  upon 
these  subjects,  that  the  common  people  among  them  are  ful- 
ly persuaded,  that  there  is  nothing  like  true  devotion,  be- 
yond the  circle  which  encloses  Methodism !  On  this  sub- 
ject I  speak  not  theoretically.  I  testify  what  I  do  know. 
When  I  was  surrounded  by  Methodism,  and  was  inquiring 
to  what  body  I  should  attach  myself,  my  ears  were  continu- 
ally filled  with  invectives  against  other  denominations.  I 
was  told  of  the  formality  of  Episcopalians,  the  want  of  piety 
among  Presbyterians — the  worldly  mindedness  of  their  min- 
isters, how  they  frequented  balls,  and  parties,  and  theatres; 
and  how  many  of  them  were  given  to  intoxication  !  !  !  Not 
supposing  that  a  spirit  of  proselytism  ever  could  lead  to  the 
utterance  of  such  untruths,  I  believed  all  that  was  told  me, 
until  I  learned  from  experience  that  they  violated  the  ninth 
commandment. 

"  Again,  they  suppose  all  but  themselves  very  destitute  of 
practical  piety.    They  have  imbibed  the  fallacious  opinion, 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


227 


that  there  is  no  piety  where  there  is  not  a  great  excitement  of 
animal  feeling.  Hence  their  meetings  are  conducted  with 
great  confusion,  two  or  more  praying  at  the  same  time;  in 
prayer,  the  voice  is  raised  to  the  highest  note;  during 
preaching,  the  house  echoes  with  the  cry  of  amen.  Hence, 
too,  they  conclude,  that  the  worship,  where  similar  confu- 
sion does  not  exist,  is  a  formal  service;  and  that  the  denomi- 
nations which  oppose  it,  are  all  destitute  of  the  power  of 
godliness.  This  is  the  datum  on  which  they  arrive  at  their 
conclusion;  on  which  they  exclude  all  but  themselves  from 
the  reigning  power  and  influence  of  divine  grace. 

"  Believing  that  genuine  piety  is  found  only  among  them- 
selves, they  seem  as  desirous  to  proselyte  from  other  denomi- 
nations, as  to  convert  a  sinner  from  the  error  of  his  ways. 
And  when  from  a  sister  church  an  individual  passes  over 
to  them,  they  consider  it  a  matter  of  as  much  rejoicing  as  if 
a  profligate  had  become  pious.  Can  this  be  accounted  for 
in  any  other  way,  than  that  they  consider  the  denomination 
from  which  the  proselyted  individual  comes,  as  destitute  of 
all  true  religion  ?  I  think  not.  The  same  truth  is  evident 
from  the  manner  in  which  they  lament  the  conduct  of  a 
child,  or  a  friend,  who  joins  any  other  denomination  of 
Christians.  They  mourn  over  it  with  bitter  lamentation; 
and  in  appearance  are  as  much  affected  by  it,  as  if  the  child 
or  friend  had  imbibed  some  damnable  heresy.  *##* 

"  That  this  is  their  feeling  is  also  obvious,  from  the  way 
in  which  they  talk  about  Methodism.  With  many,  it  is  the 
synonyme  of  piety  and  godliness.  According  to  their  reck- 
oning, where  there  is  no  Methodism,  there  is  no  religion. 
In  the  west  and  south,  the  prayer  is  frequently  heard — 
'  Lord  revive  Methodism;  may  this  wicked  people  be  con- 
verted to  Methodism;  may  Methodism  have  free  course  and 
be  glorified.'    What  but  a  disbelief  of  the  total  want  of 


228 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


piety  among  other  denominations,  connected  with  the  most 
abject  ignorance,  can  account  for  such  absurd,  I  had  almost 
said  impious  conduct. 

<(  The  feeling  above  described,  is  also  obvious,  from  the 
manner  in  which  they  locate  their  preachers.  The  great  ob- 
ject of  every  society,  having  in  its  power  the  location  of 
evangelical  ministers,  should  be  to  send  the  gospel  to  the 
really  destitute.  But  this  forms  no  rule  of  conduct  for  our 
Methodist  conferences.  Their  object  frequently  is,  not  to 
find  out  destitute  places  and  to  supply  them,  but  to  find  out 
where  there  is  a  probability  that  some  of  their  vociferous 
and  fluent  declaimers  can  distract  a  supplied  and  quiet  peo- 
ple, and  make  Methodists.  I  say  not  that  this  is  their  uni- 
form object;  for  many  of  the  younger  brethren  are  sent  into 
the  woods,  until  they  catch  the  pitch;  but  I  assert  it  to  be 
frequently  their  object.  I  have  known  itinerants  to  locate 
themselves  in  towns  where  there  was  not  a  single  Methodist, 
and  where  there  were  large  churches  of  other  denominations 
well  supplied.  What  possibly  could  have  been  their  object, 
when  thousands  were  famishing  for  the  bread  of  life  in  their 
own  vicinity?  The  only  legitimate  inference  is,  that  they 
considered  these  places  as  destitute.  At  the  distance  of  a 
few  miles  from  my  residence,  is  a  very  pleasant  county 
town.  In  that  town,  there  is  a  large  Baptist  and  Presbyte- 
rian Church.  In  each  of  these  churches,  there  are  two  ser- 
mons delivered  every  Lord's  day;  and  one  or  more  lectures 
during  the  week.  The  town  contains  ONE  member  of  the 
Methodist  Church;  and  that  member  is  an  old  lady,  so  in- 
firm that  she  rarely  can  attend  on  preaching.  And  yet,  in 
that  town,  for  a  year  and  upwards,  one  of  their  most  polite 
and  declamatory  ministers  has  been  preaching;  whilst  many 
parts  of  the  county  are  as  destitute  as  you  can  well  ima- 
gine.    This  preacher  has  been  using  every  effort  to  make 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


229 


Methodists,  and  hitherto  without  success;  when  I  last  visited 
the  place,  the  good  old  lady  '  stood  alone.'  And  this  is  on- 
ly a  specimen  of  their  conduct  throughout  the  country.  To 
what  feeling  can  we  trace  such  conduct  as  its  origin  ?  Plain- 
ly and  unequivocally,  to  a  belief  that  other  denominations 
are  destitute  of  the  life  and  power  of  true  godliness. 

"  I  make  not  these  statements  by  way  of  complaint  against 
the  Methodists,  as  if  they  had  not  the  common  privilege  of 
thinking  as  they  see  fit  about  their  brethren;  but  I  do  make 
them  for  the  purpose  of  placing  their  true  character  before 
the  public. — They  have  more  credit  for  kindness  of  feeling 
towards  others  than  belongs  to  them.  Nay,  we  venture  to 
assert  there  is  not  a  Christian  denomination,  the"  [Roman] 
"  Catholics  only  excepted,  that  regard  those  who  differ  from 
them  with  less  complacency.  This  opinion  an  intimate  ac- 
quaintance with  them,  of  more  than  twelve  years,  has  con- 
strained me  to  adopt.  **** 

"  And  is  it  so  then,  that  the  Methodists,  as  a  body,  are 
more  pious  than  other  denominations  ?  It  is  true  they  say 
and  think  so;  but  does  their  testimony  establish  the  fact? 
We  admit  that  they  make  a  greater  show  of  piety;  that  they 
preach  and  pray  more  boisterously;  that  some  of  them  wear 
long  faces  and  plain  garments.  But  these  things  may  all  be 
assumed,  for  the  sake  of  impression.  Long  and  public 
prayers,  unwashed  faces,  and  broad  phylacteries,  were  no 
sure  indications  of  piety  among  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees. 
— How  then  can  they  be  so  among  the  Methodists  ?  And  if 
the  factitious  methods  by  which  they  have  obtained,  and  re- 
tain, a  character  for  piety,  were  laid  aside,  we  believe  their 
piety  would  be  considered  generally,  as  it  now  is  by  the  en- 
lightened and  thinking,  as  little  deserving  of  confidence,  to 
say  the  least,  as  that  of  many  other  protestant  people. 


230 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


"  Piety  consists  not  in  any  form  of  dress,  in  any  show  of 
feeling,  nor  in  the  use  of  any  cant  language.  It  consists  in 
a  firm  belief,  and  in  right  conceptions,  of  the  being,  perfec- 
tions and  providence  of  God  ;  with  suitable  affections  to 
him;  trust  in  the  Redeemer,  and  a  constant  obedience  to  his 
holy  will.  Was  it  my  object  to  depress  Methodism,  I  could 
show  very  plainly,  that  their  piety  falls  farther  short  of  this 
definition,  than  that  of  many  of  their  sister  churches." — 
Ch.  Ad.,  vol.  VIII,  pp.  517—520. 

In  this  city,  as  I  have  abundant  evidence  to  knowT,  noth- 
ing is  more  common  than  for  many  Methodists  to  boast  of 
the  superior  piety  of  their  own  church,  and  at  the  same  time 
to  disparage  that  of  other  denominations.  Many  of  them 
talk  as  if  there  were  no  real  religion  in  the  world,  except 
among  themselves,  and  affect  to  deplore  the  want  of  vital 
godliness  in  other  ministers  and  churches  !  In  this  spirit 
they  not  unfrequently  speak  of  others,  as  having  "  only  the 
form  of  religion" — and  of  themselves,  (humble  souls  !)  as 
having  its  vitality  and  "  power!"  And  they  talk  much  of 
"  the  life"  of  their  meetings,  and  of  "  the  coldness  and 
deadness"  of  the  religious  services  of  others.  I  have  no 
doubt  but  that,  with  many,  the  selfish  motive  in  all  this  is, 
to  make  proselytes  from  other  churches  in  order  to  swell  the 
number  of  their  own  sect.  But  with  others,  who  are  more 
sincere,  it  arises  from  false  notions  of  the  nature  of  true  re- 
ligion, and  the  very  small  degree  of  real  piety  which  they 
themselves  possess. 

If  religion  consisted  in  wearing  a  broad  brimmed  hat,  a 
plain  bonnet,  or  a  straight  coat: — If  it  consisted  in  assum- 
ing a  sanctimonious  countenance  and  air — in  using  certain 
cant  expressions — in  singing  and  praying  vociferously,  as  if 
the  Almighty  were  deaf: — If  it  consisted  in  shouting,  and 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


231 


clapping,  and  dancing — in  crying  "  amen  !  "  or  shouting 
"  glory  !  "  "  hallelujah  !  " — If  it  consisted  in  swooning,  or 
laughing  hysterically — in  dreams,  and  visions,  and  fanatical 
impressions  and  impulses: — If  the  religion  of  the  God  of  de- 
cency and  order,  consisted  in  Phariseeism,  fanaticism,  con- 
fusion and  uproar, — then,  I  grant,  it  might  be  easy  to  prove, 
that  there  is  not  only  more  of  "the  power  of  godliness"  in 
the  Methodist,  than  in  other  churches,  but  very  little  of  it, 
comparatively,  among  the  other  sects — except,  perhaps,  the 
Shakers,  who,  notwithstanding  their  denial  of  the  Deity  of 
Christ,  &c,  can  shout,  and  shake,  and  dance  with  prodi- 
gious noise,  "power,"  and  agility!  !  But  is  this  the  reli- 
gion of  the  Bible  !  Are  practices  such  as  these,  infallible 
evidences  of  pre-eminent  holiness  ?  Are  they  indicative  of 
any,  of  the  least  degree  of  piety?  Is  it  not  an  undeniable 
fact,  that  multitudes  who  glory  in  them,  give  very  little,  if 
any  evidence  of  real  religion  ?  Yea,  is  it  not  notorious,  that 
some  who  shout  the  loudest,  prove,  by  their  daily  walk  and 
conversation,  that  they  are  no  better  than  their  ancient  pro- 
totypes— the  Scribes  and  Pharisees — so  graphically  describ- 
ed and  severely  rebuked  by  our  Lord  and  Saviour.  (See 
Matt.,  23d  chap.)  However  great  may  be  their  self-com- 
placency,  I  can  assure  them  that  the  pretensions  of  many  of 
them  to  superior  piety,  are  pretty  well  understood  by  the  in- 
telligent and  observing — and  particularly  by  many  who  have 
acquired  some  experience  in  their  commercial  dealings  with 
such  saints  !  And  if  they  have  any  doubts  concerning  their 
general  reputation,  let  them  go  upon  "  'change,"  or  enter 
the  counting-houses  of  any  of  our  intelligent  merchants, 
and  try  how  far  their  straight  coats,  long  faces,  and  cant  ex- 
pressions will  procure  them  credit  ! — Or,  if  they  allege  that 
mere  worldlings  are  no  proper  judges  of  "  the  life  and  power 
of  Methodism,"  let  them  test  the  value  of  their  loud  amens, 


232 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


&c,  among  "  the  knowing  ones"  of  their  own  "  brethren," 
and  see  how  far  they  will  trust  them,  without  other  security 
than  that  of  their  Methodistical  profession !  !  I  do  not  in- 
deed, suppose  that  all  who  indulge  in  the  enthusiastic  and 
fanatical  practices  adverted  to,  are  hypocritical  or  irreligious 
— many  of  them,  no  doubt,  are  truly  sincere  and  strictly 
pious,  according  to  their  views  of  truth  and  duty.  What  I 
affirm  is,  that  such  practices  are  no  indications  of  piety  at 
all — much  less  of  eminent  holiness;  because  they  may,  and 
actually  do  often  exist  in  connection  with  conduct  which  is 
utterly  irreconcilable  with  genuine  piety.  It  is  with  pleasure, 
I  acknowledge  also,  that  many  of  the  more  intelligent  and 
pious  among  the  Methodists,  do  not  themselves  approve  of 
many  of  the  things  to  which  I  have  alluded.  And  were  it 
not  for  the  use,  which  many  of  that  sect  habitually  make  of 
these  matters,  I  should  gladly  have  omitted  all  reference  to 
them.  But  when  they  are  held  up  by  multitudes  for  the 
double  purpose  of  glorifying  their  own  church,  and  of  dis- 
paraging the  religious  character  of  other  denominations: — 
when  it  is  confidently  asserted,  that  they  are  proofs  of  the 
life  and  power  of  religion  among  the  Methodists,  and  their 
absence  in  other  churches,  infallible  evidences  of  their  for- 
mality and  spiritual  deadness: — when  bigots  and  proselyting 
zealots  are,  on  this  ground,  perpetually  seeking  to  prejudice 
the  members  of  other  communions  against  their  own  de- 
nomination, and  in  favour  of  Methodism,  it  is  our  obvious 
duty  to  expose  them. 

I  said  that  this  disparagement  of  the  piety  of  other 
churches,  arises  not  only  from  false  notions  of  the  na- 
ture of  true  religion, — but  also  from  the  very  small  degree 
of  piety  which  they  themselves  possess.  Unless  this  were 
so,  it  would  be  morally  impossible  for  them  to  character- 
ize the  instructive  exposition  of  the  word  of  God,  as  un- 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


233 


edifying — the  faithful  exhibition  and  enforcement  of  divine 
tiuth,  as  dry  and  cold — the  orderly,  reverential  and  solemn 
prayer  and  praise  of  other  churches,  as  formal,  dead,  &c. 
The  truth  is,  these  exercises  are  too  spiritual  for  their  carnal 
hearts,  or  comparatively  dwarfish  Christian  experience.  If 
they  had  the  life  of  true  religion  within  their  souls,  or  had 
more  of  it  than  they  have,  they  would  be  able  to  enter  into 
these  purely  spiritual  exercises  with  unspeakable  interest  and 
profit.  No  marvel,  if  they  are  wholly  destitute  of  piety 
themselves,  that  nothing  but  the  excitation  of  their  natural 
sensibilities  can  make  them  conscious  of  any  feeling  in  the 
house  of  God  !  No  wonder,  if  they  possess  only  a  small 
degree  of  grace,  that  so  many  adventitious  circumstances 
and  appliances  are  indispensable  to  enable  them  to  realize 
what  they  take  to  be  the  power  of  religion,  or  to  elicit,  in 
any  good  degree,  their  love,  and  gratitude  and  praise  !  But 
instead  of  disparaging  the  spiritual  services  of  evangelical 
churches,  let  such  endeavour  to  obtain  the  grace  of  God,  or 
an  increase  of  it,  and  then  they  will  no  longer  contemn  the 
ordinances  of  Jehovah,  or  characterize  them  as  "  cold  form- 
alities," and  "lifeless,  unedifying  ceremonies." 

4.  In  addition  to  what  I  have  already  quoted,  the  writer 
of  "  Practical  Methodism"  thus  animadverts  on  the  meth- 
ods employed  by  our  Methodist  friends  in  collecting  members 
into  their  church  and  in  proselyting  from  other  denomina- 
tions. 

"  There  is,"  says  he,  "  scarcely  a  periodical  published 
from  Maine  to  Mississippi,  under  Methodist  influence,  which 
is  not  continually  ringing  changes  on  their  450,000  mem- 
bers." [This  number  has  been,  since  then,  more  than 
doubled,  and  their  boastfulness  has  fully  kept  pace  with  its 
augmentation.]  "  They  are  never  tired  of  proclaiming  that 
they  are  the  most  numerous  religous  denomination  in  the 
30 


234 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


Union;  and  that  they  are  more  rapidly  increasing  than  any 
other.  And  whilst  I  have  no  desire  to  break  in  upon  round 
numbers,  or  to  deny  that  they  are  increasing,  it  may  he  well 
to  inquire,  how  so  large  a  number  has  been  collected,  and 
by  what  means  additions  are  making  to  them. 

"  In  the  collecting  of  this  large  number,  '  camp-meetings'' 
have  been  very  efficient.  The  annual  recurrence  of  the 
'camp-meeting  season,'  is  the  great  harvest  of  Methodism. 
Then  every  sickle,  no  matter  how  dull,  is  expected  to 
cut;  then,  from  every  field,  no  matter  how  unpromising,  the 
reapers  are  expected  to  return,  bearing  their  sheaves  with 
them.  Hundreds,  of  every  class  and  description,  flock  to 
these  meetings;  some  for  one  purpose,  some  for  another. 
Day  and  night,  they  are  harangued  with  all  the  strength  of 
lungs  and  language,  which  bishops,  circuit  ministers,  local 
preachers,  class  leaders,  men  and  women,  can  command. 
There  are  but  few  imaginations  so  dull  as  not  to  be  excited 
by  the  scenes  here  exhibited;  and  but  few  possessing  feelings 
so  'saturated  with  earth,'  as  not  to  be  kindled  up  by  the 
wild  enthusiastic  addresses  which  are  made  to  them.  The 
consequences  naturally  to  be  expected  ensue.  Much  feel- 
ing is  awakened — many  are  excited  to  tears — some  are  heard 
sobbing  aloud — and  some,  under  the  pressure  of  a  boister- 
ous address,  are  almost  frantic.  Feeling  begets  feeling" — 
[just  as  naturally  as  laughter  begets  laughter — or  gaping  be- 
gets gaping.]  "The  contagion  spreads  from  circle  to  cir- 
cle, and  from  camp  to  camp;  and  soon  they  are  seen  led  in 
from  all  quarters,  1  to  be  prayed  for.'  The  names  of  all  who 
are  in  any  way  excited,  are  taken  down  by  the  ministers; 
and  at  the  breaking  up  of  the  meeting,  they  are  declared  to 
have  united  with  the  Methodists.  And  a  notice  is  written 
and  sent  to  the  1  Advocate  and  Journal,'  stating  that  at  such 
a  camp-meeting,  so  many  were  converted. 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


235 


"  It  is  true  that  the  1  Discipline'  requires  an  apprentice- 
ship of  six  months,  before  they  are  admitted  to  full  com- 
munion. But  this  is  merely  a  theory  of  the  '  Discipline,' 
which  is  but  rarely  practised.  I  have  known  them  1  con- 
verted' one  day,  and  partake  of  the  communion  the  next. 
If  there  is  a  difference  between  communion  and  full  com- 
munion, I  know  not  what  it  is,  or  on  what  it  is  based. 

"  I  could  state  a  great  many  facts,  respecting  these  camp- 
meeting  converts.  Whilst  some,  I  freely  admit,  have  hon- 
oured their  profession  and  their  Saviour,  by  a  life  of  godli- 
ness, I  have  known  many  others  return  to  the  beggarly  ele- 
ments of  the  world.  Four  or  five  years  since,  in  the  town 
adjoining  that  in  which  I  live,  about  one  hundred  were  con- 
verted; or,  to  use  Methodist  language,  1  got  religion,'  at  a 
camp-meeting.  At  this  time,  scarcely  one  of  them  main- 
tains a  character  for  piety.  A  few  of  them  yet  '  hold  on,' 
but  the  rest  '  have  fallen  from  grace.'  It  is  presumed  that 
these  backsliders,  with  all  the  like  circumstances  throughout 
the  country,  go  to  swell  up  the  round  sum  of  450,000  mem- 
bers. It  is  not  a  very  uncommon  circumstance,  to  hear  an 
individual  exclaim  at  these  meetings  that  he  has  '  got  reli- 
gion,' and  to  see  him,  before  he  has  returned  home,  get 
drunk.  And  a  more  common  circumstance  is,  to  see  them 
'  brought  out  with  power,'  and  to  hear  them  pray,  and  ex- 
hort, and  shout,  and  in  the  course  of  a  few  months  after- 
wards, to  hear  them  say  that  'religion  is  all  a  hoax.'  To 
these  things  I  can  testify.  And  yet  it  is  presumed  that  eve- 
ry name  placed  on  the  ministerial  books  at  the  meetings, 
goes  to  make  up  the  round  sum  of  450,000  members. 

"  The  circuit  preachers  pursue  a  plan,  well  adapted  to  in- 
crease their  numbers,  without  adding  to  the  amount  of  piety. 
The  fact  is,  that  almost  every  circuit  preacher  is  a  Methodist 
recruiting  officer.    The  moment  any  thing  like  seriousness 


236 


PBACTICAL  METHODISM. 


occurs  in  a  place,  the  preacher  furnishes  himself  with  pencil 
and  paper;  and  with  the  one  in  his  pocket  and  the  other  in 
his  hat,  enters  the  meeting.  After  a  noisy  exhortation,  he 
passes  round  the  room,  asking  man,  woman,  and  child,  if 
they  wish  to  be  prayed  for;  and  if  so,  to  give  in  their  names. 
Without  any  hesitation,  they  generally  answer  his  question 
in  the  affirmative,  and  give  their  names.  In  the  course  of 
a  few  weeks,  some  of  them  become  the  hopeful  subjects  of 
grace.  The  preacher  visits  them,  and  they  tell  him  the  fact. 
'  Oh  !  yes,'  he  replies,  '  I  have  been  praying  for  you,  and  I 
knew  the  Lord  would  convert  you.'  If  the  brother  or  sis- 
ter expresses  a  desire  to  join  some  other  church,  he  makes 
no  hesitation  in  saying,  'you  have  been  converted  by  Meth- 
odist prayers,  and  now  you  should  join  the  Methodist 
Church.'  If  this  is  not  clear  demonstration  to  the  indivi- 
dual he  is  addressing,  he  produces  the  paper,  on  which  the 
name  was  at  first  enrolled,  as  evidence  that  the  conversion 
was  the  result  of  Methodism.  If  neither  his  art  nor  per- 
suasion succeeds  in  making  the  individual  a  Methodist,  he 
retires  from  the  house,  perhaps  saying,  '  thank  God,  I  am 
not  so  proud,  but  that  the  Methodist  religion  is  good  enough 
for  me.'  And  afterwards,  in  his  intercourse  with  his  broth- 
ers and  sisters,  he  vents  his  insinuations  against  the  piety  of 
the  individual.  Throughout  the  country,  these  are  things  of 
constant  occurrence. 

"  Not  long  since,  in  a  village  not  far  from  my  residence, 
there  was  a  little  excitement  in  a  sabbath  school.  From  the 
school  it  extended  itself  among  several  of  the  youth  of  the 
place.  The  circuit  preacher  heard  of  it,  and  was  soon  on 
the  spot.  After  a  most  vociferous  sermon,  he  requested  the 
youth  to  remain  behind.  He  took  out  his  paper  and  enroll- 
ed all  their  names.  He  was  uncommonly  solicitous  that 
they  should  join  the  '  class.'    And  this,  too,  when  they  were, 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


237 


nearly  to  an  individual,  the  children  of  parents  attached  to 
other  denominations.  His  conduct  so  disgusted  the  better 
informed,  as  to  induce  them  to  forbid  their  children  going  to 
meeting;  and  it  is  believed  was  the  means  of  stopping  a 
work,  which  gave  promise  of  a  very  interesting  spiritual 
harvest. 

"  Another  fact  to  illustrate  what  I  call  their  recruiting 
spirit.  Not  many  miles  distant  from  the  town  in  which  I 
live,  is  a  very  pleasant  village,  in  which  there  is  but  one 
Methodist  professor.  And  from  all  accounts,  although  of 
age,  he  can  neither  read  nor  write;  and  although  a  Christ- 
ian, he  frequently  needs  the  presence  of  a  parson  to  drive 
away  the  witches.  This  village  being  supplied  by  a  minis- 
ter who  was  rather  unpopular,  the  'itinerants'  thought  it  was 
a  good  time  for  them  to  make  a  descent.  They  gave  notice 
of  a  '  two  days'  meeting,'  and  came  at  the  time  appointed. 
Crowds  came  to  hear  and  see  them.  At  the  close  of  their 
meeting,  which  was  nearly  occupied  by  drawing  carica- 
tures of  Calvinism,  and  in  abusing  other  denominations, 
one  of  their  orators  arose  and  made  a  speech,  in  substance 
as  follows — '  We  have  come  here,  my  friends,  to  do  you 
good,  and  to  preach  the  gospel  to  you  in  its  simplicity  and 
purity.  If  we  can  procure  a  good  class  here,  we  will  con- 
tinue to  meet  regular  appointments;  if  not,  we  must  go 
where  we  can.'  He  then  gave  an  invitation  to  any  who  de- 
sired to  form  themselves  into  a  class,  to  come  forward  and 
give  in  their  names.  None  appearing  to  move,  he  rose  a 
second  time,  and  addressing  himself  first  to  some  professors 
of  other  churches,  said,  'will  you  join?'  They  replying 
with  a  very  significant  shake  of  the  head,  he  passed  on  to 
the  others;  and  went  round  the  room,  putting  the  question  to 
every  individual,  '  will  you  join  ?'  And  grievous  to  relate, 
not  one  of  them  consented,  although  under  the  excitement 


238 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


of  a  '  two  days'  meeting.'  And  this  Tertullus  had  to  sit 
down,  under  the  by  no  means  desirable  conviction,  that  his 
labours  and  hopes  were  all  in  vain.  But  the  very  course  of 
conduct  whose  failure  is  narrated  here,  is  that  which  in  other 
places  is  doing  execution,  and  has  achieved  wonders  in 
swelling  the  list  of  members  to  the  round  sum  of  450,000. 

"  Another  method  used  by  them  for  increasing  their  list, 
and  which  is  considerably  powerful,  if  we  may  judge  of  its 
strength  by  its  effects,  is  that  of  prejudicing  serious  and  in- 
quiring individuals  against  other  denominations.  Perhaps  no 
trait  is  more  generally  characteristic  of  Methodism  than  this. 
And  the  extent  to  which  it  is  sometimes  carried  is  truly  as- 
tonishing. It  is  however  in  perfect  keeping  with  their  gen- 
eral character.  Having  imbibed  the  opinion,  that  of  all 
sects,  they  are  the  most  holy,  orthodox,  devoted,  and  (to 
use  a  phrase  from  their  own  vocabulary)  '  God  honouring 
people;'  and  that  all  other  denominations  are  formal,  world- 
ly minded,  erroneous  in  belief,  and  without  the  power  of 
godliness,  we  might  reasonably  expect  just  such  a  course  of 
conduct,  as  that  on  which  we  are  animadverting.  But  sure- 
ly neither  law  nor  gospel,  nor  Christian  charity,  can  counte- 
nance the  conduct  to  which  we  see  this  opinion  lead  every 
day.  When  a  person  is  reported  as  serious,  and  who  is 
known  to  have  but  little  prejudice  in  favour  of  any  denomi- 
nation, a  visit  may  very  soon  be  expected  from  the  circuit 
preacher.  If,  in  the  course  of  conversation,  he  discovers 
any  leaning  to  another  fold,  he  is  sure  to  discant  upon  the 
character  and  doctrines  of  its  shepherd  and  sheep.  And  that 
too,  in  such  a  way,  as  to  make  the  impression,  that  they  are 
not  walking  in  all  the  commandments  and  ordinances  of  the 
Lord  blameless.  To  verify  the  truth  of  these  remarks,  I 
could  narrate  at  least  twenty  instances,  within  my  own 
knowledge.    Nor  is  this  conduct  without  its  effect,  in  swell- 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


239 


ing  the  list  of  450,000  members.  There  is  no  period  of 
mature  life,  perhaps,  when  individuals  are  more  credulous, 
than  when  under  a  deep  conviction  of  sin.  At  such  a  pe- 
riod, every  thing  said,  especially  by  Christian  ministers,  has 
its  weight.  And  when  statements  are  made  by  an  indivi- 
dual wearing  a  clerical  dress,  and  a  very  sober  countenance, 
with  a  drawling,  religious  tone,  the  serious  inquirer  cannot 
find  in  his  heart  to  think  that  all  is  not  just  so.  And  the  de- 
ceptive representations  of  other  denominations,  made  by 
'  itinerants'  to  individuals  under  these  circumstances,  I  have 
known  to  make  impressions  which  all  time  will  not  erase. 
— Nor  is  this  conduct  confined  to  serious  persons,  who 
have  no  particular  predilections.  I  have  known  it  to  be 
pursued  towards  the  wives  and  daughters  of  members  and 
elders  of  other  churches. 

"  To  place  in  a  clear  and  convincing  light  what  I  state,  I 
ask  the  liberty  of  inserting  an  extract  from  a  letter  I  hold  in 
my  possession.  Its  history  is  as  follows — In  a  certain  town, 
there  was  a  fashionable  young  lady,  who  became  serious, 
obtained  a  hope  of  her  good  estate,  and  expressed  a  desire 
to  unite  with  a  Presbyterian  Church.  The  Methodist  itine- 
rant preacher  was  uncommonly  anxious  that  she  should  unite 
with  them.  How  to  accomplish  his  desires  he  knew  not. 
On  opening  the  door  one  morning,  the  letter  from  which  the 
following  extract  is  made,  was  found,  directed  to  the  young 
lady.  The  itinerant  preacher  was  charged  to  his  face  with 
being  the  author  of  it,  and  never  denied  it. — 

"  '  My  Sister, — As  you  are  about  to  take  a  step  which  will 
be  of  great  importance  to  your  future  welfare,  permit  me  to 
ask  a  few  questions,  which  though  you  may  not  see  proper 
to  answer,  yet  they  will  be  remembered  when  you  and  I  are 
standing  at  the  tribunal  of  Almighty  God.  1st.  What  bene- 
fit do  you  expect  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  which  you  can- 


240 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


not  find  in  ours  ?  Do  they  preach  the  gospel  any  purer,  or 
with  more  success  ?  Do  they  pray  with  more  zeal,  or  do 
they  possess  any  more  of  apostolic  fire,  than  our  preachers 
do?  Who  has  manifested  the  greatest  desire  for  the  salvation 

of  ;  the  Methodists  or  the  Presbyterians  ?  Brother 

H   (meaning  himself)  has  never  got  but  twenty-two 

dollars,  whereas  the  Presbyterians  have  collected  near  one 
hundred  dollars  at  one  time.  Whose  labours  does  God  bless 
the  most,  that  of  the  Methodists,  or  Presbyterians  ?  Do  not 
the  Presbyterians  admit  of  card-playing,  going  to  the  thea- 
tres, &c,  &c;  how  then,  can  they  be  the  people  of  God? 
Take  heed,  my  sister,  how  you  join  that  church;  you  may  re- 
pent of  it,  when  it  is  eternally  too  late.  Leaving  out  of 
view  all  the  God-dishonouring  horrors  of  election  and  repro- 
bation, I  cannot  see  how  you  can  join  that  people.  Beware, 
my  sister,  what  you  do;  farewell  till  we  meet  at  the  judgment, 
where  you  will  know  that  he  who  writes  this  is 

Your  Friend.' 

"Does  this  need  any  comment?  Can  there  be  a  more 
preposterous  exhibition  of  hypocrisy,  avarice,  falsehood  and 
impiety !  And  whilst  I  would  by  no  means,  say,  that  all 
their  ministers  would  go  as  far  as  '  Your  Friend,'  I 
have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  the  feeling  exhibited  in  the 
above  extract  is  that  which,  in  kind,  is  possessed  by  a  large 
majority  of  the  itinerants,  in  the  Methodist  connexion.  And 
whilst  two  thousand  and  upwards  of  such  men  are  abroad 
through  the  land,  beating  up  for  Methodist  recruits,  and  de- 
termined to  make  Methodists  in  any  way,  and  at  all  hazards, 
can  we  wonder  that  they  can  boast  of  the  round  number  of 
450,000  members  ?"— Ib.,  vol.  IX.,  pp.  20—24. 

The  same  pharisaical,  bigoted,  and  proselyting  spirit  is 
constantly  manifested  by  many  of  them  in  this  city.  They 
are  perpetually  endeavouring  in  private  to  disaffect  the  mem- 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


241 


bers  of  other  churches,  with  a  view  to  proselyte  them  to 
Methodism.  And  the  lengths  to  which  they  sometimes  go, 
are  almost  incredible.  They  often  speak,  as  if  there  were 
no  real  conversions  under  the  ministry  of  other  denomina- 
tions, and  no  vital  or  experimental  religion  among  the  mem- 
bers of  other  sects. — "  Come  to  our  meeting" — they  often 
say  to  the  members  of  other  churches — "  come  to  our  meet- 
ing, if  you  want  to  get  religion  !"  And  one  of  them,  in  re- 
monstrating with  his  relative  against  sending  her  child  to  a 
Presbyterian  sabbath  school,  is  said  to  have  exclaimed — 
(t  What  !  do  you  want  your  child  to  go  to  hell !  !  " 

In  their  efforts  to  disafFect  our  people  and  to  proselyte 
them  to  their  sect,  they  sometimes  resort  to  the  most  shame- 
ful vilification  of  our  doctrines,  and  to  the  most  dishonoura- 
ble and  uncandid  misrepresentations  of  the  personal  views, 
feelings  and  conduct  of  Presbyterian  pastors.  Let  me  give 
one  or  two  examples.  For  some  years  after  my  settlement 
in  this  city,  I  was  in  the  habit  of  occasionally  inviting  their 
ministers  to  occupy  my  pulpit;  as  I  felt  a  desire  to  be  upon 
friendly  terms  with  every  evangelical  denomination  of  Christ- 
ians. But  in  no  one  instance,  was  this  professional  courte- 
sy ever  reciprocated  by  them.  Had  this  uncivil  neglect 
been  all,  I  should  never  have  publicly  noticed  it;  but,  to  my 
surprise,  I  heard  from  one  and  another,  that  the  members  of 
the  Methodist  Church  were  privately  animadverting  upon 
my  "bigotry,"  in  not  being  willing  to  preach  in  their  pul- 
pits!— "  Our  preachers,"  said  they,  "  frequently  preach  in 
your  pulpit,  but  your  pastor  is  so  proud  or  bigoted,  that  he 
will  not  preach  in  any  of  ours  ! !  "  Again,  when  one  of 
their  meeting  houses  in  my  neighbourhood  was  undergoing 
repairs,  I  cheerfully  consented  to  their  occupying  our  house 
of  worship,  which  they  did  for  weeks — and  left,  without 
even  saying,  "  thank  you  sir  !  "  But  this  want  of  politeness 
31  t&$ 


242 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


was  a  trifle,  compared  with  the  representations  which  some 
of  their  members  were  making,  during  the  very  time  they 
were  occupying  our  church,  of  my  alleged  heresy  and  illib- 
erality  ! !  In  short,  without  entering  into  further  details  with 
which  I  have  been  personally  connected,  I  have  had  but  too 
much  reason  to  know,  that  private  misrepresentation  and 
personal  detraction  are,  to  a  great  extent,  employed  by  Meth- 
odists in  their  efforts  to  break  down  other  churches,  with  a 
view  to  the  upbuilding  of  their  own.  And  I  may  add  that, 
so  far  as  my  experience  goes,  the  utmost  liberality  and  kind- 
ness are  utterly  lost  upon  many  of  them,  who  seem  to  be  in- 
capable of  appreciating  either,  when  exercised  by  a  Calvin- 
ist,  and  who  appear  to  think,  that  almost  any  measures  are 
lawful,  in  opposition  to  Presbyterian  ministers  and  churches. 

One  great  object  too,  of  their  camp-meetings  and  occa- 
sional excitements  in  their  churches,  is,  no  doubt,  to  prose- 
lyte the  members  of  other  denominations.  This  I  infer, 
from  the  zeal  with  which  they  invite  and  urge  the  members 
of  other  congregations  to  attend.  "Without  these  expe- 
dients, they  would  have  but  little  prospect  of  proselyting 
from  other  Christian  sects — for  their  ordinary  services  are, 
to  say  the  least,  not  more  interesting  than  those  of  other 
churches;  nor,  without  them,  could  they  have  the  same  pre- 
text for  enticing  others  from  their  usual  places  of  worship. 
But  there  seems  to  be  no  sectarian  design,  in  inviting  other 
Christians  to  a  "  camp-meeting" — and  many  go,  without 
ever  suspecting  that  the  object  is,  if  possible,  to  convert 
them  to  Methodism.  So  every  now  and  then,  an  excitement 
is  "  gotten  up,"  in  one  or  more  of  their  meeting  houses;  and 
it  again  furnishes  a  pretext  for  inviting  and  urging  the  mem- 
bers of  other  denominations  to  visit  their  churches.  To  cre- 
ate such  an  excitement,  they  usually  have  on  hand  some  "  ex- 
traordinary preacher" — some  "  wonderful  orator" — some 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


243 


"  great  revivalist"— and  generally,  he  who  happens  to  be 
the  present  operator,  is  the  most  eloquent,  powerful  and  suc- 
cessful preacher,  that  has  ever  preceded,  or  that  ever  will 
come  after  him  !  Accordingly,  their  members  flock  from  their 
different  places  of  worship,  and  from  all  parts  of  the  city  to 
hear  the  orator  and  revivalist, —  (and  to  give  information  of 
the  desired  point  of  concentration,  their  numerous  pulpits 
and  class  meetings  afford  abundant  and  unusual  facilities,) 
and  then  the  crowd,  thus  created,  is  alleged  as  demonstra- 
tive evidence,  not  only  of  the  prodigious  eloquence  of  the 
preacher,  but  also  of  the  extraordinary  presence  and  power 
of  God  !  They  sing  and  pray  vociferously — shout  at  the 
top  of  their  voices — clap  their  hands,  and  hollow  "glory  ! 
hallelujah!" — and  then  it  is  circulated  far  and  wide,  that  a 
powerful  and  glorious  revival  of  religion  is  in  progress  in 
such  a  meeting  house  !  And  now,  now  is  the  time  for  mak- 
ing proselytes — to  urge  those  who  belong  to  other  sects  to 
come  and  hear  the  prodigy,  and  to  participate  in  the  revi- 
val! Now  is  the  time  for  many  to  show  their  revived 
Christianity  !  by  disparaging  other  ministers  and  churches, 
and  by  drawing  comparisons  between  "  the  life  and  power  of 
Methodism,"  and  "the  formality  and  deadness"  of  other 
communions  !  And  in  order  that  the  greatest  possible  num- 
ber may  be  thus  enticed,  the  revival,  as  they  call  it,  like 
some  portable  machine,  is  carried  from  one  meetinghouse  to 
another,  and  from  one  section  of  the  city  to  another.  This 
machinery  is  usually  set  in  motion,  at  least  once  a  year ; 
though,  if  any  special  reason  exist,  or  if  any  particular  ob- 
ject is  to  be  gained,  it  can  be  put  in  operation  at  any  time, 
and  in  any  place.  I  predicted,  after  the  delivery  of  my  lec- 
tures on  the  Divine  Decrees,  and  before  their  publication, 
that  soon  after  their  appearance  in  print,  a  Methodist  revi- 
val might  be  expected,  in  my  immediate  neighbourhood — 


244 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


and  so  there  was.  I  now  predict  that,  (unless  this  exposure 
shall  prevent  it,)  soon  after  this  work  makes  its  appearance, 
we  shall  have  another,  perhaps  more  ,£  powerful,"  to  prove 
that  all  that  is  said  concerning  their  polity,  &c,  is  untrue, 
and  that  they  are  the  very  best  Christians  on  earth.  But  if 
there  should  be  a  renewal  of  the  same  kind  of  excitement,  I 
trust  that  it  will  be  with  no  greater  success,  so  far  as  my 
flock  are  contemplated — for  to  their  honour,  be  it  known, 
that,  notwithstanding  all  the  efforts  which  were  made  to 
proselyte  them — and  that  for  weeks  in  succession — not  a 
man,  woman,  or  child  could  be  seduced  from  the  church  of 
their  fathers.  And  if  the  selfish  and  sectarian  objects  of 
those  who  seek  to  entice  the  members  of  other  denomina- 
tions, were  better  understood  and  more  generally  known, 
there  would  be  fewer  proselytes  from  any  of  them. 

But  after  all  these  methods  of  manufacturing  converts, 
what  is  the  boasted  efficiency  of  Methodism,  as  compared, 
for  example,  with  the  alleged  inefficiency  of  Presbyterian- 
ism  ?  What  are  the  relative  numbers  added  to  the  respec- 
tive denominations?  According  to  the  printed  minutes  of 
1842,  the  increase  of  the  Methodist  communion  was  60,983; 
and  the  number  of  travelling  and  local  preachers,  10,920 — 
which  would  not  be  equal  to  an  increase  of  six  individuals, 
on  an  average,  for  each  minister  during  the  year.  Let  us 
now  compare  this  with  the  minutes  of  the  Presbyterian  de- 
nomination for  the  same  year.  The  total  number  of  addi- 
tions reported  (and  the  reports  are  far  from  being  complete) 
was  14,714,  and  the  number  of  ministers  and  licentiates, 
1,508;  which  would  be  nearly  equal  to  ten  additions,  on  an 
average,  to  each  minister  during  the  year.  Or,  if  we  com- 
pare the  total  number  of  communicants  reported  in  1842, 
with  the  number  reported  in  1841,  we  shall  find  that  the  nett 
increase  was  6,000;  which  would  be  an  increase  of,  very 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


245 


nearly,  four  individuals  to  each  minister  during  the  year.  If 
all  the  Presbyteries  and  churches  had  reported  the  num- 
bers added  within  their  bounds,  the  sum  total  would  have 
been  far  greater.  But  even  as  it  stands,  what  ground  is 
there  for  the  frequent  invidious  comparisons,  between  the 
boasted  efficiency  of  Methodist  preachers,  and  the  alleged 
inefficiency  of  Presbyterian  ministers  ?  Considering  the  "  ma- 
chinery" which  is  employed  in  the  production  of  Methodist 
converts,  and  the  frequency  and  "power"  of  their  "revi- 
vals"— considering  the  boastful  manner  in  which  they  are 
prone  to  speak  of  the  success  of  their  preachers,  and  the 
disparaging  manner  in  which  they  frequently  speak  of  the 
inefficiency  of  other  clergymen,  one  would  naturally  ex- 
pect, that  the  additions  to  their  communion  would  be  im- 
mense, when,  lo !  upon  examination,  it  is  discovered,  that 
the  increase  to  their  denomination,  according  to  their  own 
Minutes  for  1842,  did  not  equal  six  individuals,  on  an  aver- 
age, to  each  of  their  ministers  during  the  year!  !  What  an 
advantage  there  is  sometimes  in  subjecting  such  vain  boast- 
ings to  the  test  of  figures ! 

While  on  this  topic,  I  may  be  excused  for  adding  a  few 
remarks  concerning  the  fruits  of  my  own  ministry.  I  have 
never  before  published,  or  caused  to  be  published,  a  single  line 
respecting  the  number  of  additions  to  the  church  over  which 
I  preside;  although,  during  the  deeply  interesting  seasons 
with  which  we  have  been  divinely  favoured,  I  have  been 
urged  by  one  and  another  to  do  so,  because  I  have  always 
felt  a  strong  aversion  to  any  thing  like  ostentation  or  boast- 
ing on  such  subjects.  But  as  special  pains  appear  to  have 
been  taken  by  some  of  the  members  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church — particularly  since  the  Lectures  on  the  Divine 
Decrees  were  delivered — to  disparage  my  ministry,  and  to 
misrepresent  the  state  and  prospects  of  the  church  and  con- 


246 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


gregation  with  which  I  am  connected,  I  feel  it  to  he  due,  not 
only  to  myself,  but  likewise  to  the  beloved  people  of  my 
charge,  to  state,  as  briefly  and  as  modestly  as  I  can,  the  fol- 
lowing facts: — 

1.  With  regard  to  the  number  of  additions  to  the  commu- 
nion of  our  church.  I  have  been  the  bishop  of  the  Third 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Baltimore  between  twelve  and  thir- 
teen years;  having  been  elected  its  pastor,  on  the  17th  day 
of  May,  1830;  and  ordained,  and  installed  as  such,  on  the 
25th  day  of  July  following.  At  the  commencement  of  my 
ministry,  the  congregation  was  very  small — greatly  involv- 
ed in  debt — and  very  much  discouraged  in  consequence  of 
their  previous  disappointments  and  repeated  failures.  Ma- 
ny a  time  have  I  lectured,  on  a  week-day  evening,  to  two  or 
three  persons;  and  preached,  on  the  sabbath,  to  fifteen  or 
twenty  individuals — and  for  several  years  I  laboured  under 
the  greatest  disadvantages.  And  yet,  during  my  pastoral 
connexion  with  them,  without  any  of  the  modern  "  moral  ma- 
chinery," but  by  the  blessing  of  God,  upon  his  own  ap- 
pointed means  of  grace,  there  have  been  added  to  the  com- 
munion of  the  church,  beticeen  four  and  Jive  hundred  souls — 
or,  on  an  average,  between  thirty  and  forty  every  year. 

2.  With  respect  to  the  pecuniary  condition  of  the  congrega- 
tion, the  following  extract,  from  the  last  Annual  Report  of  the 
Board  of  Trustees,  will  speak  for  itself: — "As  we  have  now 
arrived  at  a  new  era  in  our  financial  history,  it  may  be  pro- 
per to  advert  briefly  to  the  past.  For  several  years  prior  to 
the  installation  of  our  present  pastor,  the  condition  of  the 
church  was  most  deplorable.  Few  in  numbers,  and  over- 
whelmed in  debt,  the  congregation  was  rapidly  hastening  to 
dissolution.  In  the  fall  of  1828,  the  then  existing  Board  of 
Trustees  were  obliged  to  acknowledge  their  inability  to  ex- 
tricate the  church  from  its  embarrassments;  and,  as  a  last  re- 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


247 


sort,  appealed  to  their  fellow  citizens  and  the  members  of 
other  sister  churches  for  assistance.  In  that  public  appeal, 
fas  appears  from  the  mss.  records,)  after  giving  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  state  of  affairs,  they  sr.y, — '  It  is  manifest  that 
some  spirited  exertions  must  be  made  to  extricate  the 
church,  in  whole  or  in  part  from  this  debt,  or  the  premises 
must  be  sold  at  auction  to  satisfy  the  just  claims  of  its  credit- 
ors. The  friends  of  the  church  are  unwilling  to  submit  to 
this  latter  alternative;  and  they  have  therefore  determined  to 
make  one  last  and  potent  effort  to  relieve  it,  in  which  they 
hope  and  pray  that  they  may  be  sustained  by  their  fellow 
citizens,  and  especially  by  those  of  the  same  Christian  denom- 
ination with  themselves.'  The  proposition  which  was  then 
made,  viz. — to  sell  the  pews — in  a  great  measure  failed;  and 
things  continued  to  grow  worse,  until  the  summer  of  1830, 
when  the  present  administration  of  the  church  began.  Since 
then,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  and  the  cordial  and  united  co- 
operation of  the  people,  the  church  has  been  extricated  from 
its  difficulties  and  brought  into  a  condition  highly  gratifying 
and  encouraging.  The  property  has  not  only  been  greatly  en- 
larged and  improved — at  a  cost  of  some  five  or  six  thousand 
dollars — but  the  original  onerous  debt,  of  at  least  the  same 
amount,  has  been  reduced  to  less  than  two  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars.  This,  the  ladies  have  generously  assumed;  and, 
judging  from  their  past  activity  and  efficiency,  (for  which 
they  have  our  hearty  thanks,)  there  can  be  no  doubt  but 
that,  in  due  time,  it  will  be  extinguished.  The  church, 
therefore,  may  be  considered  as  virtually  free  from  debt; — a 
consummation  devoutly  wished  for,  and  one  demanding  our 
special  gratitude  and  praise  !" 

3.  With  regard  to  the  present  state  and  prospects  of  the 
congregation, — I  can  say  without  hesitation,  that  they  have 
never  before  been  so  encouraging.    The  services  of  the 


248 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


church  have  been  of  late,  well  sustained — the  audiences  un- 
usually large — and  the  number  of  hearers,  gradually,  yet 
steadily  increasing.  The  lectures,  through  the  week  have 
been  remarkably  well  attended — and  the  church,  large  as  it 
now  is,  has  been  generally  well  filled  on  the  sabbath.  And 
I  will  add,  never,  in  the  whole  course  of  my  ministry,  have 
my  people  manifested  greater  attachment  or  been  more  kind 
and  generous  towards  their  pastor.  Indeed,  the  opposition 
from  without,  has  evidently  served  to  bind  them  more  close- 
ly to  their  friend  and  bishop,  and  to  attach  them  the  more 
firmly  to  the  doctrines  and  order  of  their  venerated  and  belov- 
ed church.  I  repeat  it,  that  nothing  but  the  misrepresenta- 
tions which  have  reached  my  ears  should  have  induced  me  to 
make  these  statements:  and  I  trust  that  what  I  have  stated, 
will  satisfy  the  public  that,  for  the  present,  at  least,  the  Third 
Presbyterian  Church  is  not  hastening  to  dissolution,  nor  are  a 
greatmany  of  its  members  about  to  turn  Arminian  Methodists'.* 

I  will  now  proceed  to  give  some  extracts  from  the  articles 
on  "Practical  Methodism,"  relative  to  the  effects  of 
Methodism  on  the  church  and  on  the  world.    He  says, — 

"  By  way  of  preliminary,  I  would  state,  that  I  am  very 
far  from  depreciating  the  good  the  Methodists  are  accom- 
plishing all  around  us.    I  do,  yea,  and  will  rejoice,  that 

*  I  will  take  the  liberty  of  recording  an  additional  fact — as  remarkable 
as  it  is  creditable  to  the  Christian  character  of  the  congregation.  During 
the  whole  period  of  my  pastoral  connexion  with  them,  there  has  never 
been  a  single  jar  in  either  the  spiritual  or  temporal  Boards  of  the  church; 
and  I  have  yet  to  hear  the  first  negative  voice  in  any  of  the  meetings  of  the 
church  or  congregation.  And  as  to  personal  respect  and  kindness — their 
conduct  has  been  most  exemplary.  Is  it  any  wonder  that  a  pastor  should 
love  such  a  people  1 — May  he  not  be  excused  for  this  grateful  acknowl- 
edgment and  public  commendation  1 — Especially,  when  strangers  seek 
not  only  to  alienate  his  people  from  him,  but  also  to  estrange  him  from 
them  1 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


249 


through  their  zeal  and  activity,  the  lamp  of  the  gospel  is 
carried  to  many,  sitting  in  the  regions  of  darkness.  In  the 
wild  wastes,  and  new  settlements  of  our  country,  as  well  as 
in  foreign  lands,  they  are  accomplishing  much,  which  with- 
out them,  would  probably  remain  undone.  But  yet,  in  seve- 
ral respects,  I  think  the  effects  of  their  influence  are  very 
much  to  be  deplored.    And  first,  as  it  regards  the  church. 

1.  "  Here  the  first  obvious  effect  of  their  influence,  is,  in 
lowering  the  standard  of  qualification  for  the  Christian  min- 
istry. All  history  bears  its  mournful  testimony  to  the  deplor- 
able effects  of  an  unqualified  ministry.  Incompetent  teach- 
ers of  religion  have  ever  been  the  scourge  of  the  church, 
the  abettors  of  error — the  tools  of  wily  ecclesiastics  and 
politicians,  and  at  once  the  victims  and  supporters  of  super- 
stition and  fanaticism.  Need  I  refer  the  readers  of  the  Ad- 
vocate to  the  evidence  which  proves  these  allegations  ?  It 
is  written  in  sunbeams  on  the  pages  of  every  ecclesiastical 
and  civil  historian.  And  in  the  face  of  all  this  light  and 
evidence,  the  Methodists,  as  a  body,  are  the  stern  advocates 
of  an  untaught  ministry.  Throughout  the  country,  we  see 
them  elevating  men  to  the  dignity  of  ambassadors  of  Christ, 
utterly  unprepared  to  discharge  correctly,  a  single  duty  of 
the  sacred  function.  And  if  report  speaks  the  truth,  in  the 
south  and  west,  it  is  no  uncommon  thing  to  hear  them  com- 
mence their  sermons  by  thanking  God  that  they  were  not 
<  man  made  ministers,'  that  they  did  not  preach  with  the 
enticing  words  of  'human  larnin.'  To  the  ignorance  of 
their  clergy,  as  a  primary  cause,  we  may  trace  nearly  all  the 
conduct  on  which  strictures  have  been  made,  in  my  preced- 
ing numbers. 

11  And  I  am  sorry  to  state,  that  the  influence  of  Methodist 
example  in  this  respect,  is  felt  and  seen  in  other  branches  of 
the  church  of  Christ.    Influenced  by  motives  not  altogether 
32 


250 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


justifiable,  they  admit  young  men  to  the  holy  calling,  before 
they  have  passed  through  a  tythe  of  the  necessary  prepara- 
tion. This  is  one  of  the  signs  of  -the  times  that  makes  me 
tremble,  like  Eli,  for  the  ark  of  God.  If  ever  the  church 
sinks  again  into  the  darkness  from  which  she  was  freed  by 
the  reformation,  it  must  be  for  the  want  of  an  intelligent 
ministry.  And  if  ever  she  becomes  the  joy  of  the  whole 
earth,  diffusing  her  saving  light  from  pole  to  pole,  and  '  from 
the  rivers  to  the  end  of  the  earth,'  it  must  be,  under  God,  to 
the  influence  of  a  pious,  talented,  well  informed  ministry. 
And  the  influence  exerted  by  the  Methodists,  in  advocating 
an  illiterate  ministry,  and  in  slandering  the  learning  and  ta- 
lents of  their  more  enlightened  neighbours,  will,  in  its  ulti- 
mate results,  be  found  sufficient  to  counterbalance  a  large 
proportion  of  the  good  they  are  effecting.* 

2.  "  Another  of  their  evil  effects  upon  the  church  is,  the 
little  value  they  place  upon  Christian  instruction.  Their  sys- 
tem is  mainly  formed  with  a  reference  to  the  passions. 
Their  preaching,  praying,  classes,  camp-meetings,  and  love- 
feasts,  are  all  conducted  so  as  to  affect  the  passions.  As  it 
respects  instruction,  a  moral  famine  pervades  every  thing  they 
do.  This  might  be  expected  from  the  character  of  a  large 
majority  of  their  clergy.  The  time  was,  when  the  labour- 
ing oar  of  ministerial  duty,  was  the  instruction  of  the  rising 
and  risen  generation;  when  none  were  admitted  to  the 
church,  without  a  knowledge  of  its  doctrines  and  duties, 
without  being  able  to  give  a  reason  for  the  hope  which  they 
professed.  That  was  the  golden  age  of  the  church,  which 
produced  the  Erskines  and  Owens;  the  Henrys  and  Baxters; 
the  Charnocks  and  Howes.  Certain  it  is,  that  what  these 
great  luminaries  considered  a  necessary  course  of  instruction 

•See  remarks  on  this  subject  on  pp.  215  and  216. 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM.  251 

for  admission  to  Christian  privileges,  is  by  the  Methodists, 
in  a  great  measure  neglected.  A  person  professes  conver- 
sion to-day,  and  is  admitted  to  the  communion  to-morrow. 
And  thus  the  church  is  rilled  with  ignorant  members;  igno- 
rant of  the  Bible,  and  in  a  very  lamentable  degree,  of  the 
plan  of  salvation.  Were  it  not  for  their  reigning  desire  to 
make  members,  they  would  probably,  to  some  extent  at  least, 
pursue  a  different  plan;  but  as  it  is,  the  course  which  they  pur- 
sue is  to  be  deplored.  And  their  example  in  this  respect,  is 
exerting  a  deleterious  influence  ^on  other  portions  of  the 
church.  Other  denominations,  to  prevent  their  adherents 
from  becoming  Methodists,  '  where  they  can  get  religion  so 
easy,'  admit  them  to  membership,  before  the  consent  of  en- 
lightened piety  and  judgment  would  pronounce  them  quali- 
fied. If  the  Methodist  Church  is  determined  to  run  upon 
the  rock  on  which  the  Romish  Church  split,  and  around 
which  its  broken  fragments  are  floating  until  the  present 
hour;  it  is  earnestly  to  be  wished,  that  her  sister  churches 
may  not  be  so  unwise  as  to  follow  her. 

3.  "  Another  of  the  evil  effects  of  Methodism  upon  the 
church  is,  the  perverted  taste  which  it  creates  for  hearing 
the  word  of  God.  Such  a  taste  have  they  created  for  clamor- 
ous preaching,  that  now  they  will  be  satisfied  with  nothing 
else.  The  great  object  of  preaching,  surely,  is  to  elucidate 
and  explain  the  word  of  God,  and  to  bring  it  home  to  the 
heart  and  conscience.  These  two  things  must  necessarily 
be  united;  but  among  our  Methodist  brethren  generally,  such 
an  union  is  not  regarded  as  important,  and  is  in  fact,  seldom 
witnessed.  A  didactic  man  among  them  is  regarded  as  a 
mere  dabbler  in  human  learning,  and  is  generally  unpopular. 
What  can  be  more  detrimental  to  the  purity  and  prosperity 
of  the  Church  of  Christ,  than  a  sentiment  like  this  ?  If  in 
the  sacred  and  divine  institution  of  preaching,  a  calm,  delib- 


252 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


erate,  rational  and  pungent  exposition  of  the  scriptures,  is  to 
give  way  to  the  narration  of  experience,  and  of  wonderful 
incidents  and  anecdotes — often  to  the  veriest  rant  and  bom- 
bast, what  is  to  become  of  the  church?  If  the  scriptures 
cease  to  shine  from  the  pulpit,  what  is  to  enlighten  and  save 
the  people  ? 

"  Nor  is  the  evil  influence  of  Methodism  in  this  respect 
confined  to  themselves.  Sorry  am  I  to  say,  that  it  is  seen 
and  felt  among  other  denominations.  Our  preaching  is  in 
many  instances,  dwindling  down  to  declamation;  our  sermons 
to  rhetorical  flourishes:  expositions  of  scripture  are  superse- 
ded by  little  flights  of  fancy,  and  too  many  of  our  youthful 
preachers  are  more  ambitious  to  collect  their  laurels  from 
Parnassus  than  from  Calvary.  When  our  modern  sermons 
are  compared  with  those  of  the  Erskines,  and  Matthew 
Henry,  and  Witherspoon,  how  wide  the  difference  between 
them  !  It  cannot  be  denied  or  concealed,  that  the  increas- 
ing tendency  of  our  pulpit  exercises  is  to  superficialness. 
And  that  the  rise  and  progress  of  Methodism  has  increased 
this  tendency  very  much,  especially  among  the  clergy  of  the 
second  order  of  mind,  to  me  is  as  clear  as  demonstration." — 
Ch.  Ad.,  vol.  IX.,  pp.  189—191. 

The  tendency  to  the  kind  of  preaching  above  mentioned, 
"  among  the  clergy  of  the  second  order  of  mind,"  general- 
ly, has  certainly  not  been  decreasing  since  the  foregoing 
strictures  were  written.  It  has  become  in  truth  deplorably 
prevalent.  How  many  of  that  class  use  their  texts  as  mere 
mottos,  and  entertain  their  hearers  with  mere  declamation  or 
"rhetorical  flourishes."  How  seldom  do  such  elucidate 
and  explain  the  passage  of  scripture  on  which  they  profess 
to  discourse.  In  many  instances,  the  hearers  are  as  little  in- 
formed of  its  connexion  and  true  meaning,  after  the  sermon, 
as  they  were  before.    And  if  any  one  should  happen  to  for- 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


253 


get  the  text  after  it  had  been  announced,  he  would  never  be 
reminded  of  it  by  the  substance  of  the  sermon  itself.  In- 
deed, so  little  do  many  of  them  "  stick  to  their  text,"  that 
it  is  doubtful  whether  they  themselves  could  tell  what  they 
were  preaching  from,  if  suddenly  interrogated  in  the  midst 
of  their  "  flights  of  fancy"  or  irrelevant  and  bombastic  de- 
clamation.— The  grand  object  with  such  appears  to  be,  either 
to  "tickle  the  ears"  of  their  hearers,  or  to  make,  what  is 
called,  "  a  powerful  impression"  upon  their  feelings. 

I  have  no  doubt  but  that,  in  many  cases,  it  is  the  same  in- 
feriority of  mind,  which  leads  them  to  the  adoption  of  much 
of  the  "moral  machinery''''  of  Methodism.  Being  unable  to 
sustain  themselves  as  public  teachers,  by  the  force  of  talent 
and  the  variety  and  instructiveness  of  their  discourses,  they 
are  obliged  to  resort  to  various  arts  and  appliances,  to  cover 
their  deficiency,  and  to  retain  or  replenish  their  audiences. 
And  for  the  same  reason,  many  of  them  call  in  the  aid  of 
some  popular  revivalist,  every  now  and  then,  to  resuscitate 
their  languishing  churches,  which,  without  such  extraneous 
aid,  would  literally  die  of  spiritual  ennui!  Certain  am  I, 
that  it  would  be  morally  impossible  for  some  men  to  sustain 
themselves  in  the  positions  they  occupy,  if  they  were  to  dis- 
pense with  their  periodical  helps  from  abroad,  and  the  vari- 
ous machinery  by  which  they  contrive,  for  a  long  time,  to 
keep  up  a  factitious  interest.  And  yet  the  machinery  will 
ultimately  wear  out;  and  the  feebleness  and  inefficiency  of 
those  who  have  very  little  else  to  rely  upon  for  success,  be 
made  too  apparent  to  be  concealed.  I  know  that  such  men 
are  accustomed  to  place  the  employment  of  such  machinery 
upon  very  different  grounds: — They  profess  to  use  such  mea- 
sures because  they  judge  them  adapted  to  accomplish  much 
good — and  not  content  with  the  privilege  of  thus  thinking 
and  acting  for  themselves — though  it  be  in  direct  opposition 


254 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


to  the  clearest  dictates  of  experience — they  not  unfrequent- 
ly  represent  those  of  their  brethren  who  will  neither  employ 
or  connive  at  them,  as  being  destitute  of  a  revival  spirit — as 
cold  and  negligent  in  their  master's  service.  It  is  high  time, 
therefore,  in  self-defence,  to  speak  out  what  has  long  been 
our  private  opinion,  and  to  expose,  what  we  believe  to  be, 
in  many  cases,  the  real,  though  we  would  fain  hope  uncon- 
scious, cause  of  the  employment  of  such  objectionable  mea- 
sures.— They  are  resorted  to,  in  many  instances,  as  substitutes 
for  mental  power,  and  clung  to  in  desperation,  as  the  only 
means  of  keeping  up  a  factitious  interest.  If  any  one  wishes 
to  test  the  truth  of  these  remarks,  let  him  visit  the  churches  of 
such  during  the  interval  of  their  revivals,  so  called,  and  as- 
certain what  interest  the  people  feel  in  their  exhibitions  of 
divine  truth,  without  the  exciting  accompaniments  adverted 
to.  And  let  him  ask  himself  the  question — how  long  would 
their  audiences  endure  such  preaching,  without  the  hope  of 
being  relieved  by  the  visit  of  some  evangelist,  or  the  re-en- 
actment of  those  stimulating  scenes  to  which  I  have  allud- 
ed !  No  marvel,  then,  that  certain  Methodislical  measures 
— measures  originally  resorted  to  by  weak  or  ignorant  men, 
as  their  only  chance  for  creating  any  interest  in  their  minis- 
trations— should  be  adopted  by  some  others,  not  Methodists; 
— they  are  in  fact,  their  "  capital  stock  in  trade,"  with- 
out which  they  would  soon  become  bankrupt  in  reputation, 
and  be  obliged  to  retire  in  disgrace  as  incompetent  to  in- 
struct and  interest  an  intelligent  people.  In  order,  however, 
to  guard  against  any  misconstruction,  I  will  add,  that  I  am 
far  from  being  opposed  to  the  occasional  assistance  of  evan- 
gelists, or  other  pastors,  or  to  the  occasional  multiplication  of 
the  divinely  appointed  means  of  grace.  Such  occasional 
foreign  aid  is  sometimes  highly  useful  to  a  flock,  supplied  by 
the  most  able  and  faithful  of  pastors — and  such  an  occasional 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


255 


increase  of  the  usual  number  of  religious  services,  is  often 
very  profitable.  My  sole  opposition  is  directed  against  the 
use  of  certain  Methodistical  machinery — called  among  other 
denominations  "new  measures" — which  are,  in  my  judg- 
ment, productive  only  of  spurious  revivals  or  mere  popular 
excitements;  awfully  injurious,  in  their  ultimate  and  perma- 
nent effects,  upon  the  Church  of  Christ,  and  deceptive  and 
ruinous  to  multitudes  of  immortal  souls. — What  these  meas- 
ures are — how  they  are  applied — and  what  are  their  results, 
will  be  shown,  in  the  succeeding  chapter,  after  I  have  given 
the  remaining  extracts  from  "  Practical  Methodism."  The 
writer  of  those  articles  observes, 

4.  "  But  what  is,  perhaps,  the  greatest  evil  of  Method- 
ism, is  yet  to  be  named.  I  mean  its  effect  in  begetting  im- 
proper notions  in  regard  to  divine  truth.  The  influence 
which  our  views  of  divine  truth  exert  on  the  heart  and  con- 
science, is  extensive  and  powerful.  In  regard  to  the  pro- 
duction of  proper  religious  feeling,  our  views  of  truth  are 
every  thing.  When  they  are  obscure  and  undefined,  there 
will  be  a  corresponding  confusion  in  our  feelings;  when  ra- 
tional and  luminous,  they  impart  warmth,  vigour,  and  pro- 
priety to  every  holy  affection.  In  this  view  of  the  subject, 
how  deplorable  the  extension  which  is  given  to  views  and 
notions,  based  on  clouds,  and  borne  up  by  vapours,  which 
vanish  into  thin  air  before  the  light  of  reason  and  scripture. 

"  Were  it  not  that  I  resolved,  at  the  commencement,  to 
exclude  all  doctrinal  discussion  from  these  papers,  I  could 
easily  elucidate  what  I  mean,  by  a  slight  glance  at  some  pe- 
culiarly erroneous  sentiments.  I  would  refer  to  them,  howev- 
er, merely  as  to  their  practical  tendency.  Among  the  Meth- 
odists there  is  very  much  religious  irreverence, — arising,  no 
doubt,  from  their  improper  views  of  the  character  of  God. 
It  is  impossible  to  support  their  creed  without  derogating 


256 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


from  some  of  the  essential  attributes  of  his  nature.  His 
sovereignty,  omniscience,  foreknowledge  and  unchangeable- 
ness,  are  by  implication  set  aside;  and  having  lost  a  just 
view  of  his  majesty,  he  can  be  approached  with  the  less 
reverence.  Hence  their  boisterous  and  unmeaning  prayers, 
the  great  familiarity  with  which  they  treat  the  Most  High, — 
their  crude  notions  on  the  subject  of  '  getting  religion,'  and 
of  sinless  perfection.  They  suppose  that  religion  can  be 
obtained  and  lost  at  any  time — that  it  consists  in  a  boister- 
ous agitation  of  the  passions — that  other  means  than  prayer 
and  the  avoidance  of  temptation,  are  to  be  used  in  overcom- 
ing the  devil,* — and  reverence  and  order  in  religious  worship 
are  the  characteristics  of  coldness  and  formality.  So  incor- 
rect are  their  notions  in  regard  to  some  truths,  and  so  lax 
and  gross  as  it  regards  others,  that  where  Methodism  has 
been  to  any  extent  prevalent,  it  is  almost  impossible  to  make 
a  proper  impression  upon  the  mind.  You  can  do  but  little 
else  than  look  upon,  and  weep  over  the  wild  waste  that  is 
widening  around  you.  That  there  are  individuals  among 
the  Methodists,  who  utterly  disapprove  of  many,  or  of  all 
the  excesses,  I  have  here  mentioned,  I  freely  and  gladly  ad- 
mit; but  that  the  specified  errors  and  excesses  do  prevail 
among  them  generally,  as  a  sect,  is  what  I  know  to  be  true. 

5.  "  I  will  conclude  this  paper  by  saying  a  few  words  re- 
specting the  influence  of  Methodism  upon  the  world.  By  the 
world,  I  mean  unsanctified  sinners  in  general.  Here  I  touch 
upon  a  topic,  where  what  I  shall  offer,  may,  I  am  aware,  be 
opposed  by  a  great  show  of  argument.    Facts  may  be  stat- 

*"  A  man  of  my  acquaintance,  a  few  years  since,  cried  oul,  in  an  even- 
ing meeting  among  the  Methodists,  'brethren,  1  have  got  the  devil,  and 
will  not  let  him  go  till  I  kill  him.'  He  continued  fisting  his  satanic  ma- 
jesty against  the  wall,  for  half  an  hour,  whilst  the  cries  of  '  amen,'  and 
'  glory  to  God,'  were  rising  all  around  him." 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


257 


ed  which  will,  to  all  appearance,  prove  every  thing  which  I 
say  to  be  fallacious.  We  shall  be  told  of  the  great  zeal  and 
success  of  the  circuit  preachers — of  the  450,000  members 
collected  together  in  the  short  space  of  60  or  70  years, — of 
the  revivals  which  they  have  enjoyed — and  of  the  influence 
which  they  exert  in  promoting  religion  and  virtue,  and  of 
checking  immorality  and  vice.  I  will  readily  concede  the 
truth  of  every  modest  statement  that  may  be  made  on  all 
these  subjects.  I  cheerfully  admit  that  they  are  doing  much, 
very  much,  to  advance  the  declarative  glory  of  God,  and  to 
save  sinners.  And  yet  I  am  fully  impressed  with  the  be- 
lief that  on  the  rational,  thinking  portion  of  the  world,  their 
example  and  influence  produce  a  very  unhappy  effect. 

"  I  will  suppose  a  case  for  the  purpose  of  illustration.  A 
man  of  intelligence  is  prompted  by  curiosity  to  attend  one 
of  their  boisterous  '  camp-meetings.'  He  goes  from  camp 
to  camp,  and  from  one  praying  circle  to  another.  He  hears 
the  fervid  enthusiasm  of  the  preachers,  which  acts  upon  the 
mass,  as  a  whirlwind  upon  the  ocean.  He  sees  some  falling 
into  fits — others  exhausted  with  shouting — others  prostrate 
on  the  earth,  and  crying  out,  '  it  made  no  difference  to  them 
whether  they  went  to  heaven  head  or  heels  foremost.'*  With 
what  impressions  respecting  religion  would  he  return  from 
this  scene  of  anarchy  and  confusion  ?  Let  any  candid  mind 
answer  the  question.  Such  scenes  are  as  little  calculated  to 
honour  the  cause  of  religion  as  those  exhibited  by  the  Sty- 
lites,  Mystics,  or  VVhippers. 

"  I  will  suppose  another  case.  A  man  of  intelligence 
visits  their  prayer  meetings.  He  hears  twenty  or  thirty 
praying  at  once,  and  the  less  fluent  brethren  and  sisters 

*  "  A  scene  actually  witnessed  at  a  camp-meeting,  but  a  few  miles  from 
my  residence." 

33 


258 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


shouting  'amen.'  He  hears  one  exclaim — 'I  see  the  Sa- 
viour: there  he  is;'  and  another,  '  I  see  heaven  open,  and 
God  preparing  to  descend  to  us;'  and  another  crying  out, 
'pray  on,  brothers  and  sisters,  the  blessing  will  soon 
come.'  He  sees  little  else  than  irreverence  before  Him 
who  hath  said,  <  the  Lord  is  in  his  holy  temple;  let  all  the 
earth  keep  silence  before  him.'  With  what  impressions  re- 
specting religion  will  he  return  from  this  meeting  ?  Let  any 
impartial  mind  answer.  If  such  scenes  are  not  well  calculated 
to  make  the  impression,  that  religion  is  only  fitted  for  the  vul- 
gar; that  it  is  all  a  matter  of  blind  superstition;  I  know  not 
what  scenes  are.  And  these  are  the  scenes  actually  exhibit- 
ed in  nearly  every  camp-meeting,  and  in  many  prayer-meet- 
ings and  love-feasts,  from  one  extremity  of  the  country  to 
the  other. 

"  And  the  impressions  which  these  scenes  are  calculated 
to  make  are  the  very  ones  that  are  made.  Where  the  '  Meth- 
odist religion'  has  been  for  any  time  prevalent,  unchecked  by 
the  presence  of  other  denominations,  you  find  the  talented 
and  influential  members  of  society,  generally  in  the  opposi- 
tion. They  are  opposed  not  only  to  the  Methodists,  but  to 
every  thing  in  the  form  of  godliness.  The  region  in  which 
I  live,  bears  a  decided  testimony  to  the  truth  of  this  fact. 
Methodism  was  once  dominant.  It  carried  nearly  every 
thing  before  it;  and  now  the  intelligent  and  influential  are 
generally  infidels,  or  something  as  bad;  and  are  rarely  ever 
seen  within  the  walls  of  a  church.  Methodism  is  at  present 
on  the  wane:  the  people  are  becoming  wearied  of  it:  and  that 
cold  chill,  which  is  the  sure  precurser  of  spiritual  death,  is 
pervading  the  whole  community.  From  the  facts  stated,  I 
conclude,  that  in  many  places  where  the  Methodists  are  do- 
ing much  good,  they  are  also  doing  much  harm;  often  where 
they  are  scattering  some  of  the  good  seed  of  the  word,  they 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


259 


are  also  sowing  the  bad  seed  of  opposition  and  infidelity." 
—  Oi.  Ad.,  vol.  IX.,  pp.  246—248. 

To  illustrate,  still  further,  the  amazing  credulity  and  gross 
fanaticism  of  Methodism,  as  well  as  to  show  the  real  nature 
of  many  of  their  "  conversions,"  and  the  true  character  of 
much  of  their  so  called  "  Christian  experience,"  I  will  make 
a  few  extracts  from  the  "  Works  of  the  Rev.  John  Wesley," 
the  founder  of  the  sect.  Only  let  it  be  remembered,  that  the 
wonderful  stories,  &c,  related  by  him,  are  religiously  believ- 
ed by  thousands  of  his  followers  in  this  country,  and  that 
similar  visions,  bodily  agitations,  &c,  are  still  common 
among  them.    The  extracts  are  as  follow: — 

"  Tues.,  January  1,  1751. — About  this  time  I  received  a 
remarkable  letter;  part  of  which  ran  as  follows: — 

****"' It  was  my  custom  to  rise  some  hours  before  the 
family,  and  spend  that  time  in  reading.  One  Sunday  morn- 
ing I  was  just  going  to  open  my  Bible,  when  a  voice  (wheth- 
er inward  or  outward,  I  cannot  tell)  seemed  to  say  very  loud, 
'  God,  for  Christ's  sake,  hath  forgiven  thee.'  I  started  up, 
took  the  candle,  and  searched  all  about,  to  see  if  any  one 
was  near;  but  there  was  none.  I  then  sat  down,  with  such 
peace  and  joy  in  my  soul  as  cannot  be  described.  While  I 
was  musing  what  it  could  mean,  I  heard  it  again,  saying, 
'  go  in  peace,  thy  sins  are  forgiven  thee.'  I  trembled  ex- 
ceedingly, not  with  fear,  but  such  an  emotion  as  I  cannot 
express.  Yet  I  got  up  the  second  time,  and  opened  the 
door,  to  see  if  it  was  any  human  voice.  Soon  after  it  was 
repeated  the  third  time,  still  louder;  which  drove  me  on  my 
knees  to  prayer,  being  overwhelmed  with  the  love  of  God, 
and,  for  the  time,  utterly  incapable  of  doubt  or  fear.  '  " — 
Wesley' '$  Works,  vol.  111.,  p.  506. 

The  following  samples  were  furnished  by  one  of  his  cleri- 
cal correspondents,  and  are  introduced  by  him  thus: — "  I 


260 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


shall  easily  be  excused  for  adding  here,  a  further  account  of 
the  work  of  God  in  and  near  Everton: — 

"'I  discoursed  also  with  Ann  Thorn,  who  told  me  of 
much  heaviness  following  the  visions  with  which  she  had 
been  favoured;  but  said  she  was  at  intervals  visited  still  with 
such  overpowering  love  and  joy,  especially  at  the  Lord's 
supper,  that  she  often  lay  in  a  trance  for  many  hours.  She 
is  twenty-one  years  old.  We  were  soon  after  called  into  the 
garden,  where  Patty  Jenkins  (one  of  the  same  age)  was  so 
overwhelmed  with  the  love  of  God,  that  she  sunk  down,  and 
appeared  as  one  in  a  pleasant  sleep,  only  with  her  eyes  open; 
yet  she  had  often  just  strength  to  utter,  with  a  low  voice, 
ejaculations  of  joy  and  praise;  but  no  words  coming  up  to 
what  she  felt,  she  frequently  laughed  while  she  saw  his  glo- 
ry.   This  is  quite  unintelligible  to  many;  for  a  stranger  in- 

termeddleth  not  with  our  joy.    So  it  was  with  Mr.  M  , 

who  doubted  whether  God  or  the  Devil  had  filled  her  with 
love  and  praise.    0,  the  depth  of  human  wisdom !  Mr. 

R  ,  the  mean  time,  was  filled  with  solemn  awe.    I  no 

sooner  sat  down  by  her,  than  the  spirit  of  God  poured  the 
same  blessedness  into  my  soul.  Hers  continued  till  the  time 
we  were  to  set  out  for  Cockin  Hatley.  Then  her  strength 
was  restored  in  a  moment,  and  we  walked  together,  sixteen 
in  number,  singing  to  the  Lord  as  we  went  along. 

"  '  June  6,  1759. — I  spoke  this  morning  at  Orwell,  on  Isa. 
55:  1.  One  who  had  been  before  convinced  of  sin,  fell 
down  in  a  kind  of  fit,  and  broke  out  in  great  anguish  of  soul, 
calling  on  the  Lord  Jesus  for  salvation.  He  wrought,  as  in 
the  agonies  of  death,  and  was  quite  bathed  in  swTeat.  He 
beat  the  chair,  against  which  he  kneeled,  as  one  whose  soul 
drew  nigh  unto  hell.  His  countenance  then  cleared  up  at 
once:  we  hoped  he  would  be  presently  set  at  liberty;  but  on 
a  sudden  he  was  more  distressed  than  ever,  being  in  the 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


261 


sharpest  conflict.  Every  muscle  of  his  body  was  in  strong 
agitation,  as  if  nature  was  just  dissolving.  I  never  saw  any 
convulsion  fit  so  violent.  But  in  a  moment  God  dispelled 
the  cloud.  His  face  was  again  covered  with  smiles,  andAe 
spake  as  seeing  the  Lord  near  him.  He  cried  unto  him;  and 
the  Lord  hearing,  pronounced  him  freely  forgiven.  At  that 
instant,  he  clapped  his  hands,  and  cried  aloud,  'Jesus  is 
mine  !  He  is  my  Saviour !'  His  soul  toas  in  peace;  neither 
did  he  find  the  least  bodily  pain  or  soreness. 

"'This  morning,  Ann  Simpson,  aged  sixteen  or  seven- 
teen, lay  near  an  hour  in  the  utmost  distress,  shrieking  out, 
'  Christ!  Christ!'  and  no  other  word;  her  face  all  the  time 
being  violently  distorted.  J  left  her  awhile,  but  could  scarce 
sit  down  before  I  heard  the  voice  of  praise.  I  went,  and 
found  her  heaviness  turned  into  joy,  even  the  joyful  assurance 
that  her  sins  were  pardoned.****  I  asked  her,  why  she  cried 
out  continually, '  Christ !  Christ !'  She  answered, '  I  thought 
myself  at  that  time,  on  a  little  island,  and  saw  Satan  in  a 
hideous  form,  just  ready  to  devour  me,  hell  all  round  open  to 
receive  me,  and  myself  ready  to  drop  in;  while  no  help  ap- 
peared, nor  any  way  to  escape.  But  just  as  I  was  dropping 
in,  the  Lord  appeared  between  me  and  the  great  gulf,  and 
would  not  let  me  fall  into  it.  As  soon  as  1  saw  him,  all  my 
trouble  was  gone,  and  all  pain  I  felt  before;  and  ever  since, 
I  have  been  light  and  joyful,  and  filed  with  the  love  of 
God.' 

"  '  Fri.  13. — Mr.  R  ,  as  well  as  Mr.  M  ,  was  in 

doubt  concerning  the  work  of  God  here.  But  this  morning 
they  were  both  fully  convinced,  while  Alice  Miller,  the  lit- 
tle pale  girl,  justified  May  20th,  who  is  in  the  sixteenth,  and 
Molly  Raymond,  who  is  in  the  twelfth  year  of  her  age,  relat- 
ed their  experience;  their  artless  confidence  confirming  all 
their  words. 


262 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


"  '  When  sermon  was  ended,  one  brought  good  tidings  to 
Mr.  B.  from  Grandchester,  that  God  had  there  broken  down 
seventeen  persons,  last  week,  by  the  singing  of  hymns  only; 
and  that  a  child,  seven  years  old,  sees  many  visions,  and  as- 
tonishes the  neighbours,  with  her  innocent,  awful  manner  of 
declaring  them. 

"  '  While  Mr.  B.  preached  in  the  church,  I  stood  with 
many  in  the  church  yard,  to  make  room  for  those  who  come 
from  far;  therefore,  I  saw  little,  but  heard  the  agonizing  of 
many,  panting  and  gasping  after  eternal  life.  In  the  after- 
noon, Mr.  B.  was  constrained,  by  the  multitude  of  people,  to 
come  out  of  the  church,  and  preach  in  his  own  close.  Some 
of  those  who  were  here  pricked  to  the  heart,  were  affected  in 
an  astonishing  manner.  The  first  man  I  saw  wounded, 
would  have  dropped,  but  others  catching  him  in  their  arms, 
did,  indeed,  prop  him  up,  but  were  so  far  from  keeping  him 
still,  that  he  caused  all  of  them  to  totter  and  tremble.  His 
own  shaking  exceeded  that  of  a  cloth  in  the  wind.  It  seem- 
ed as  if  the  Lord  came  upon  him  like  a  giant,  taking  him 
by  the  neck,  and  shaking  all  his  bones  in  pieces.  One  wo- 
man tore  up  the  ground  with  her  hands,  filling  them  with 
dust  and  with  the  hard  trodden  grass,  on  which  I  saw  her 
lie,  with  her  hands  clenched,  as  one  dead,  when  the  multi- 
tude dispersed.  Another  roared  and  screamed  in  a  more 
dreadful  agony  than  ever  I  heard  before.  I  omitted  the  re- 
joicing of  believers,  because  of  their  number  and  the  fre- 
quency thereof,  though  the  manner  was  strange;  some  of 
them  being  quite  overpowered  with  divine  love,  and  only 
showing  enough  of  natural  life  to  let  us  know  they  were 
overwhelmed  with  joy  and  life  eternal.  Some  continued 
long  as  if  they  were  dead,  but  with  a  calm  sweetness  in 
their  looks.  I  saw  one  who  lay  two  or  three  hours  in  the 
open  air,  and  being  then  carried  into  the  house,  continued 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


263 


insensible  another  hour,  as  if  actually  dead.  The  first  sign 
of  life  she  showed  was  a  rapture  of  praise,  intermixed  with  a 
small  joyous  laughter. 

"  '  Wed.  18. — We  called  at  the  house,  where  Mr.  B.  had 
been  preaching  in  the  morning,  and  found  several  there  re- 
joicing in  God,  and  several  mourning  after  him.  While  I 
prayed  with  them,  many  crowded  into  the  house,  some  of 
whom  burst  into  a  strange,  involuntary  laughter,  so  that  my 
voice  could  scarce  be  heard;  and  when  I  strove  to  speak 
louder,  a  sudden  hoarseness  seized  me.  Then  the  laughter 
increased.  I  perceived  it  was  Satan,  and  resolved  to  pray 
on.  Immediately  the  Lord  rebuked  him,  that  laughter  was 
at  an  end,  and  so  was  my  hoarseness. 

"  '  Thurs.  19. — Mr.  J.  gs  was  a  mild,  good  natured 

Pharisee,  who  had  never  been  awakened:  but  he  was  now  tho- 
roughly convinced  of  his  lost  estate,  and  stood  for  a  time  in 
utter  despair,  with  his  mouth  wide  open,  his  eyes  staring, 
and  full  of  huge  dismay.  When  he  found  power  to  speak, 
he  cried  out,  '  I  thought  I  had  led  a  good  life;  I  thought  I  was 
not  so  bad  as  others;  but  I  am  the  vilest  creature  upon  earth; 
I  am  dropping  into  hell  !  Now,  now;  this  very  moment  V. 
He  then  saw  hell  open  to  receive  him,  and  Satan  ready  to 
cast  him  in;  but  it  was  not  long  before  he  saw  the  Lord  Jesus, 
and  knew  he  had  accepted  him.  He  then  cried  aloud,  in  an 
unspeakable  rapture,  '  I  have  got  Christ !  I  have  got  Christ !' 
For  two  hours  he  was  in  the  visions  of  God ;  then  the 
joy,  though  not  the  peace,  abated.' " — lb.,  vol.  IV.,  pp. 
35—39. 

The  foregoing  are  fair  samples  of  many  similar  narratives 
with  which  his  journal  abounds.  If  my  limits  allowed,  I 
would  transcribe  a  few  choice  specimens  of  the  apparition 
or  ghost  stories,  which  he  also  relates  with  the  utmost  gravi- 
ty:— one  of  which  he  introduces  with  the  expression  of  his 


264 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


entire  belief  in  the  reality  of  witches,  as  well  as  ghosts,  and 
accompanies  with  the  most  ludicrous  annotations  ! — See  his 
Works,  vol.  IV.,  pp.  159—161.  279—286. 

I  will  only  add  the  following,  as  illustrative  of  his  own 
experience: — 

"  Fri.  9. — I  was  a  little  surprised  at  some,  who  were  buf- 
feted of  Satan  in  an  unusual  manner,  by  such  a  spirit  of 
laughter,  as  they  could  in  no  wise  resist,  though  it  was  pain 
and  grief  unto  them.  I  could  scarce  have  believed  the  ac- 
count they  gave  me,  had  I  not  known  the  same  thing  ten  or 
eleven  years  ago.  Part  of  Sunday,  my  brother  and  I,  then 
used  to  spend  in  walking  in  the  meadows,  and  singing 
psalms.  But  one  day,  just  as  we  were  beginning  to  sing,  he 
burst  out  into  a  loud  laughter.  I  asked  him,  if  he  was  dis- 
tracted; and  began  to  be  very  angry,  and  presently  after  to 
laugh  as  loud  as  he.  Nor  could  we  possibly  refrain,  though 
we  were  ready  to  tear  ourselves  in  pieces,  but  we  were  forced 
to  go  home  without  singing  another  line." — lb.,  vol.  III., 
p.  188. 

Now,  what  confidence  can  be  placed,  by  any  intelligent 
and  experienced  Christian,  in  conversions  and  religious  joys, 
founded  upon  dreams  and  visions,  and  "  kind  of  fits  !"  Can 
any  rational  and  truly  pious  man  read  such  accounts,  without 
shuddering  at  the  awful  consequences  of  such  gross  fanati- 
cism and  delusion  ? 

There  appears  to  have  been  considerable  uncertainty  and 
confusion  in  the  mind  of  Mr.  Wesley  himself,  in  regard  to 
many  of  these  strange  occurrences — and  no  little  inconsist- 
ency in  his  manner  of  speaking  of  them  at  different  times 
and  on  different  occasions.  He  speaks  of  them,  as  partly 
natural,  and  partly  supernatural — and  ascribes  them,  some- 
times to  the  agency  of  the  Devil,  and  at  other  times,  to  the 
power  of  God. 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


265 


On  some  occasions — smarting  under  the  satirical  expo- 
sures of  his  opponents — he  almost  repudiates  them  with  in- 
dignation ! — In  reply  to  one  of  them,  he  says: — "  Are  you 
not  convinced,  sir,  that  you  have  laid  to  my  charge,  things 
which  I  know  not  ?  I  do  not  gravely  tell  you  (as  much  an 
enthusiast  as  you  over  and  over  affirm  me  to  be)  that  I  sen- 
sibly feel  (in  your  sense)  the  motions  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
Much  less  do  I  make  this,  any  more  than  '  convulsions,  ago- 
nies, howlings,  roarings,  and  violent  contortions  of  the  bo- 
dy,' either  '  certain  signs  of  men's  being  in  a  state  of  sal- 
vation,' or  '  necessary  in  order  thereunto.'  You  might  with 
equal  justice  and  truth  inform  the  world,  and  the  worshipful, 
the  magistrates  of  Newcastle,  that  I  make  seeing  the  wind, 
or  feeling  the  light,  necessary  to  salvation." — lb.,  vol.  V., 
p.  57. 

Yea,  on  some  occasions,  he  appears  to  have  been  himself 
impressed  with  the  necessity  of  checking  this  spirit  of  en- 
thusiasm and  fanaticism  among  his  followers — and  it  would 
be  well  if  these  warnings,  uttered  during  his  more  lucid  and 
sober  moments,  were  now  heeded  by  multitudes  who  profess 
to  revere  his  authority: — 

"  It  is  chiefly  among  these  enormous  mountains  that  so 
many  have  been  awakened,  justified,  and  soon  after  perfect- 
ed in  love;  but  even  while  they  are  full  of  love,  Satan  strives 
to  push  many  of  them  to  extravagance.  This  appears  in  seve- 
ral instances: — 1.  Frequently  three  or  four,  yea,  ten  or  twelve, 
pray  aloud  all  together.  2.  Some  of  them,  perhaps  many, 
scream  all  together,  as  loud  as  they  possibly  can.  3.  Some 
of  them  use  improper,  yea,  indecent  expressions  in  prayer. 
4.  Several  drop  down  as  dead,  and  are  as  stiff  as  a  corpse; 
but  in  a  while  they  start  up,  and  cry,  '  Glory  !  glory  !'  per- 
haps twenty  times  together.  Just  so  do  the  French  pro- 
phets, and  very  lately  the  Jumpers  in  Wales,  bring  the  real 
34 


266 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


work  into  contempt.  Yet,  whenever  we  reprove  them,  it 
should  be  in  the  most  mild  and  gentle  manner  possible." — 
lb.,  vol.  IV.,  p.  631. 

"  Perhaps  some  may  be  afraid,  lest  the  refraining  from 
these  warm  expressions,  or  even  gently  checking  them, 
should  check  the  fervour  of  our  devotion.  It  is  very  possi- 
ble it  may  check,  or  even  prevent,  some  kind  of  fervour, 
which  has  passed  for  devotion.  Possibly  it  may  prevent  loud 
shouting,  horrid,  unnatural  screaming,  repeating  the  same 
words  twenty  or  thirty  times,  jumping  two  or  three  feet  high, 
and  throwing  about  the  arms  or  legs,  both  of  men  and  wo- 
men, in  a  manner  shocking,  not  only  to  religion,  but  to 
common  decency: — But  it  will  never  check,  much  less  pre- 
vent, true,  scriptural  devotion." — lb.,  vol.  II.,  p.  44:4:. 

Indeed,  when  he  noticed  or  heard  of  these  bodily  agita- 
tions, &c.  in  others — not  of  his  own  persuasion — or  produced 
by  them  on  any  of  his  own  followers,  Mr.  Wesley's  under- 
standing appears  to  have  been  remarkably  "penetrating," 
and  his  judgment  very  decided  !  Take  the  following  exam- 
ples:— 

"Mr.  Evans  now  gave  me  an  account  from  his  own 
knowledge,  of  what  has  made  a  great  noise  in  Wales: — '  It 
is  common  in  the  congregations  attended  by  Mr.  W.  W.,  and 
one  or  two  other  clergymen,  after  the  preaching  is  over,  for 
any  one  that  has  a  mind,  to  give  out  a  verse  of  a  hymn. 
This  they  sing  over  and  over  with  all  their  might,  perhaps 
above  thirty,  yea,  forty  times.  Meanwhile,  the  bodies  of 
two  or  three,  sometimes  ten  or  twelve,  are  violently  agitat- 
ed; and  they  leap  up  and  down,  in  all  manner  of  postures, 
frequently  for  hours  together.'  I  think"  says  Wesley, 
"  there  needs  no  great  penetration  to  understand  this.  They 
are  honest,  upright  men,  who  really  feel  the  love  of  God  in 
their  hearts.    But  they  have  little  experience,  either  of  the 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


267 


ways  of  God,  or  the  devices  of  Satan.  So  he"  (the  Devil) 
"  serves  himself  of  their  simplicity,  in  order  to  wear  them 
out,  and  to  bring  a  discredit  on  the  work  of  God." — lb., 
vol.  IV.,  p.  157. 

"  Sun.  28. — I  went,  (having  been  long  importuned  there- 
to,) about  five  in  the  evening,  with  four  or  five  of  my  friends, 
to  a  house  where  was  one  of  those  commonly  called  French 
prophets.  After  a  time,  she  came  in.  She  seemed  about 
four  or  five  and  twenty,  of  an  agreeable  speech  and  be- 
haviour. She  asked,  why  we  came.  I  said,  'to  try  the  spir- 
its, whether  they  be  of  God.'  Presently  after  she  leaned 
back  in  her  chair,  and  seemed  to  have  strong  workings  in 
her  breast,  with  deep  sighings  intermixed.  Her  head  and 
hands,  and,  by  turns,  every  part  of  her  body,  seemed  also 
to  be  in  a  kind  of  convulsive  motion.  This  continued 
about  ten  minutes,  till,  at  six,  she  began  to  speak,  (though 
the  workings,  sighings,  and  contortions  of  her  body  were  so 
intermixed  with  her  words,  that  she  seldom  spoke  half  a 
sentence  together,)  with  a  clear,  strong  voice,  '  Father,  thy 
will,  thy  will  be  done.  Thus  saith  the  Lord,  if  of  any  of 
you  that  is  a  father,  his  child  ask  bread,  will  he  give  him  a 
stone  ?  If  he  ask  a  fish,  will  he  give  him  a  scorpion  ?  Ask 
bread  of  me,  my  children,  and  I  will  give  you  bread,  I  will 
not,  will  not  give  you  a  scorpion.  By  this,  judge  of  what 
ye  shall  now  hear.' 

"  She  spoke  much  (all  as  in  the  person  of  God,  and  most- 
ly in  scripture  words)  of  the  fulfilling  of  the  prophecies,  the 
coming  of  Christ  now  at  hand,  and  the  spreading  of  the  gos- 
pel over  all  the  earth.  Then  she  exhorted  us  not  to  be  in  haste 
in  judging  her  spirit,  to  be  or  not  to  be  of  God;  but  to  wait 
upon  God,  and  he  would  teach  us,  if  we  conferred  not  with 
flesh  and  blood.  She  added,  with  many  enforcements,  that  we 
must  watch  and  pray,  and  take  up  our  cross,  and  be  still  be- 


268 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


fore  God.  Two  or  three  of  our  company  were  much  affect- 
ed, and  believed  she  spoke  by  the  spirit  of  God.  But  this 
was  in  no  wise  clear  to  me.  The  motion  might  be  either  hys- 
terical or  artificial.  And  the  same  words,  any  person  of  a 
good  understanding  and  well  versed  in  the  scriptures,  might 
have  spoken.  But  I  let  the  matter  alone;  knowing  this,  that 
'  if  it  be  not  of  God,  it  will  come  to  nought.'  " — lb.,  vol. 
III.,  p.  119.  [Yes,  fanaticism  and  superstition  will  event- 
ually come  to  nought — but  like  Idolatry,  Mohamedanism, 
and  Popery,  they  may  become  very  prevalent,  and  last  a 
good  while  !  ] 

But  as  soon  as  Mr.  Wesley  found  that  some  of  his  own 
followers  were  becoming  the  disciples  of  these  French  pro- 
phets, why,  then,  no  confidence  was  to  be  placed  in  dreams, 
visions,  agitations,  &c. — for  these,  it  would  seem,  were  only 
to  be  regarded  as  evidences  of  the  power  and  approbation  of 
God,  when  they  occurred  in  connection  with  his  ministry,  or 
that  of  his  co-adjutors  ! — 

"  Fri.  22. — I  called  on  cne  who  '  did  run  well,'  till  he  was 
hindered  by  some  of  those  called  French  prophets.  '  Wo 
unto  the  prophets,  saith  the  Lord,  who  prophecy  in  my 
name,  and  I  have  not  sent  them.'  At  Weaver's  Hall,  I  en- 
deavoured to  point  them  out;  and  earnestly  exhorted  all  that 
followed  after  holiness,  to  avoid,  as  fire,  all  who  do  not  speak 
according  '  to  the  law  and  testimony.'  "  [Thus  letting  the 
matter  alone;  knowing  this,  that  "  if  it  be  not  of  God,  it 
will  come  to  nought ! !"] 

"  In  the  afternoon,"  he  continues,  "  I  preached  at  the 
Fish  Ponds:  but  had  no  life  or  spirit  in  me;  and  was  much 
in  doubt,  whether  God  would  not  lay  me  aside,  and  send 
other  labourers  into  his  harvest.  I  came  to  the  society  full 
of  this  thought;  and  began,  in  much  weakness,  to  explain, 
'Beloved,  believe  not  every  spirit,  but  try  the  spirits,  wheth- 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


269 


er  they  be  of  God.'  I  told  them,  they  were  not  to  judge  of 
the  spirit  whereby  any  one  spoke,  either  by  appearances,  or 
by  common  report,  or  by  their  own  inward  feelings:  no,  nor 
by  any  dreams,  visions,  or  revelations,  supposed  to  be  made  to 
their  souls;  any  more  than  by  their  tears,  or  any  involuntary 
effects  wrought  upon  their  bodies.  I  warned  them,  all  these 
were,  in  themselves,  of  a  doubtful,  disputable  nature;  they 
might  be  from  God,  and  they  might  not;  and  were  therefore 
not  simply  to  be  relied  on,  (any  more  than  simply  to  be  con- 
demned,) but  to  be  tried  by  a  further  rule,  to  be  brought  to 
the  only  certain  test,  the  law  and  the  testimony." — 76.,  vol. 
Ill,  p.  1-11. 

No  marvel,  that  among  a  people,  given  to  such  fanaticism, 
there  should  have  been  as  much  want  of  religious  knowledge 
and  consistency  of  Christian  character,  as  Mr.  Wesley  him- 
self, on  some  occasions,  acknowledges: — 

"  Mon.  22. — The  more  I  converse  with  this  people,"  (the 
society  at  Limerick,)  "  the  more  I  am  amazed.  That  God 
hath  wrought  a  great  work  among  them  is  manifest;  and  yet 
the  main  of  them,  believers  and  unbelievers,  are  not  able  to 
give  a  rational  account  of  the  plainest  principles  of  religion. 
It  is  plain,  God  begins  his  work  at  the  heart;  then  ( the  in- 
spiration of  the  Highest  giveth  understanding.'" — lb.,  vol. 
Ill,  p.  451. 

And  in  the  Minutes  of  one  of  his  Conferences,  he  thus 
writes  of  the  denomination  in  general: — 

"  The  world  say,  '  the  Methodists  are  no  better  than  other 
people.'  This  is  not  true.  But  it  is  nearer  the  truth  than 
we  are  willing  to  believe. 

"  N.  B.  For  (1.)  personal  religion  either  toward  God  or 
man,  is  amazingly  superficial  among  us. 

"  I  can  but  just  touch  on  a  few  generals.  How  little  faith 
is  there  among  us !    How  little  communion  with  God  ! 


270 


PRACTICAL  METHODISM. 


How  little  living  in  heaven,  walking  in  eternity,  deadness  to 
every  creature !  How  much  love  of  the  world;  desire  of 
pleasure,  of  ease,  of  getting  money !  How  little  brotherly 
love  !  What  continual  judging  one  another  !  What  gos- 
siping, evil  speaking,  tale  bearing  !  What  want  of  moral 
honesty  !  To  instance  only  in  one  or  two  particulars:  who 
does  as  he  would  be  done  by,  in  buying  and  selling,  particu- 
larly in  selling  horses  !  Write  him  a  knave  that  does  not. 
And  the  Methodist  knave  is  the  worst  of  all  knaves. 

"  (2.)  Family  religion  is  shamefully  wanting,  and  almost 
in  every  branch. 

"And  the  Methodists  in  general  will  be  little  the  better,  till 
we  take  quite  another  course  with  them.  For  what  avails 
public  preaching  alone,  though  we  could  preach  like  angels  ? 
We  must,  yea,  every  travelling  preacher  must,  instruct  them 
from  house  to  house.  Till  this  is  done,  and  that  in  good 
earnest,  the  Methodists  will  be  little  better  than  other  peo- 
ple. Our  religion  is  not  deep,  universal,  uniform; 
but  superficial,  partial,  uneven." — lb.,  vol.  V.,  p.  213. 

Before  I  conclude  what  I  have  to  say  on  the  subject  of 
Episcopal  Methodism,  I  will  add  a  chapter  on  the  subject  of 
modern  revivals  and  revival  measures. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


NEW  MEASURES  FOR  PROMOTING  REVIVALS 
OF  RELIGION. 

Extracts  from  an  able  article  in  the  Princeton  Repertory  on  the  moral 
machinery  or  new  measures  of  certain  modern  "  revivalists,"  so  called, 
in  which  the  true  character  of  such  excitements,  and  the  means  by  which 
they  are  manufactured,  are  exposed. — Letters  of  the  Rev.  Drs.  Alexander 
and  Miller,  Professors  in  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Princeton,  on  the 
subject  of  revivals  and  revival  measures. — The  great  importance  of  gen- 
uine revivals  of  religion,  and  the  necessity  of  greater  diligence,  on  the 
part  of  orthodox  Christians,  in  the  use  of  God's  appointed  means,  for 
their  promotion. 

The  following  copious  extracts  are  from  an  article  in  the 
"Biblical  Repertory  and  Princeton  Review,"  January  No., 
1842: — a  quarterly  periodical,  edited  by  an  association  of 
gentlemen,  consisting  of  a  number  of  the  able,  learned  and 
pious  Professors  in  the  Theological  and  Literary  Institutions 
in  Princeton,  whose  praise  is  in  all  the  churches.  The  ar- 
ticle was  written,  not  with  direct  reference  to  the  Method- 
ists, but  in  opposition  to  those  "  New  School  Presbyterians," 
&c,  who  had  adopted  and  employed  Methodistical  "  ma- 
chinery" for  the  promotion  of  revivals  of  religion — or,  as 
they  are  termed  among  Presbyterians,  "new  measures."  I 
present  these  extracts  for  the  instruction  and  admonition  of 
Presbyterians  especially: — and  coming  from  such  a  source, 
they  are  entitled  to,  and  will  no  doubt  receive,  the  highest 
consideration.  In  confirmation  of  some  of  the  statements 
contained  in  the  Review,  I  have  appended  several  notes, 


272 


NEW  MEASURES. 


which  may  not  be  unworthy  of  the  attention  and  reflection 
of  the  reader. 

After  exposing  the  real  character  of  the  Arminian  and 
Semi-Pelagian  doctrines  with  which  the  "  new  measures" 
are  usually  associated,  and  from  which  they  naturally  flow, 
the  reviewer  proceeds  as  follows:  — 

"Now,  with  these  views  of  regeneration  and  conversion, 
let  us  suppose  a  minister,  or,  what  is  more  common,  one  ot 
those  expert  and  practiced  itinerant  tactitians,  who  claim  to 
be  revival  preachers  emincnter,  to  undertake  the  kindling  of 
a  religious  excitement  in  a  congregation  or  community — 
what  course  will  he  naturally  pursue  ?  All  experience  shows 
that  the  following  become  integral  and  inseparable  parts  of 
the  <  moral  machinery'  put  in  requisition  to  achieve  the  de- 
sired result. 

"  First,  a  peculiar  strain  and  style  of  preaching.  One 
main  object  of  the  preaching  will  be  to  foster  in  the  minds 
of  the  hearers,  a  practical  unbelief  of  all  those  doctrines  of 
grace  which  imply  that  true  religion  cannot  exist  in  the  soul, 
unless  produced  by  a  direct  operation  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
This,  as  we  have  already  seen,  accords  with  Mr.  Finney's 
prescription  for  promoting  revivals.  For  this  purpose,  the 
doctrines  of  election,  inability,  regeneration,  are  sometimes 
kept  utterly  out  of  view;  sometimes  explained  away;  some- 
times obscured  and  mystified;  sometimes  coarsely  misrepre- 
sented, caricatured  and  maligned;  sometimes  openly  and  di- 
rectly denied.  Having  cleared  away  all  obstacles  to  '  imme- 
diate action,'  by  making  religion  a  mere  act  or  resolution  of 
the  creature,  a  second  great  object  is  so  to  operate  upon 
'  self-love,'  that  it  shall  prompt  to  an  immediate  and  decisive 
resolution.  To  this  end  the  everlasting  woes  of  the  wick- 
ed, and  joys  of  the  righteous,  are  vividly  and  abundantly 
pourtrayed,  and  this  is  a  part  of  the  counsel  of  God  which 


NEW  MEASURES.  273 

revival  preachers  can  no  way  be  accused  of  shunning  faith- 
fully to  declare.  In  connection  with  this,  invention  is  tor- 
tured for  arguments,  and  memory  for  anecdotes,  to  inspire 
the  belief,  that  if  any  do  not  escape  hell  during  the  present 
excitement,  or  perhaps  the  present  day  or  hour,  they  never 
will.  For  the  purpose  of  compassing  these  objects  more  ef- 
fectually, every  effort  is  made  to  spice  the  preaching  with 
anecdotes  and  illustrations,  often  of  the  most  strange,  crude, 
motley  description.  We  recollect  once  to  have  heard  a  ser- 
mon by  a '  revival  preacher,'  which  consisted  wholly  of  three 
anecdotes.  By  this  means  they  present  a  powerful  induce- 
ment to  all  that  class  of  persons  who  are  seeking  pastime 
and  recreation,  to  come  to  their  meetings,  since  there  are 
few  who  are  not  fascinated  with  a  good  story  well  told;  and 
hence  it  is  said,  that  this  sort  of  preaching  competes  with 
the  theatre  in  its  attractions  for  a  numerous  class.  Besides, 
there  is  something  peculiarly  grateful  and  bewitching  to  the 
more  coarse  and  profligate  sort  of  wicked  men,  in  seeing  the 
pulpit,  which  in  their  minds,  has  ever  been  associated  with 
a  purity,  sanctity  and  solemnity  that  they  cannot  endure,  de- 
graded into  a  stage  for  reciting  droll  and  vulgar  stories  and 
grotesque  images  and  comparisons.  And  especially  if  these 
are  plied  for  the  abuse,  ridicule,  or  disparagement  of  those 
ministers  and  Christians  who  do  not  bow  the  knee  to  the  re- 
vivalist, or  of  the  ordinary  teachers  and  professors  of  reli- 
gion, whom  these  persons  have  ever  hated,  they  enjoy  a  still 
richer  '  feast  of  reason  and  flow  of  soul.'  This  is  not  the 
only  advantage.  Such  anecdotes  and  illustrations  serve  the 
double  purpose  of  giving  plausibility  to  any  notion,  however 
absurd,  which  the  preacher  may  wish  to  inculcate,  and  of 
lowering  all  that  is  spiritual  and  supernatural  in  religion  to 
the  standard  of  things  purely  natural,  civil  or  moral,  i.  e.  to 
the  capacity  and  tastes  of  the  carnal  and  worldly  mind, 
35 


274 


NEW  MEASURES. 


which  is  void  of  the  renewing  and  illumination  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.***  We  have  heard  the  wonderful  skill  of  a  noted 
revivalist  illustrated  by  one  of  his  admirers,  thus:  He  was 
vindicating  the  necessity  of  protracted  meetings,  and  for  this 
purpose  employed  the  following  illustration:  'If  we  kindle  a 
single  fire  under  a  kettle  it  will  warm  the  water  somewhat, 
but  will  not  raise  it  to  a  boiling  heat.  And  if  we  wait  till 
the  water  becomes  cold  before  we  again  put  fire  under  it,  we 
may  repeat  the  experiment  endlessly  without  making  it  boil. 
The  fire  must  therefore  be  kept  a-going  without  interrup- 
tion, till  the  result  sought  is  attained.  So  with  preaching. 
If  it  occur  only  on  the  sabbath,  the  effect  dies  away  during 
the  week.  It  must  be  therefore  repeated  without  cessation, 
in  order  to  accomplish  any  thing.'  This  supposes  that  reli- 
gion is  a  mere  working  up  of  the  natural  susceptibilites  by 
the  efficacy  of  persuasion,  instead  of  a  product  of  the  divine 
power  attending  the  preaching  of  the  word.  Otherwise  it 
is  unmeaning.  Yet  it  is  plausible  with  unreflecting  minds. 
These  are  fair  specimens  of  the  anecdotes  and  illustrations 
used  by  this  class  of  preachers.  And  although  there  is  a 
legitimate  use  of  anecdotes  and  illustrations,  when  conscien- 
tiously and  judiciously  employed  by  experimental  and  spir- 
itually enlightened  preachers,  yet  we  insist  that  the  free  use 
of  such  as  are  commonly  employed  by  the  class  of  preachers 
under  review,  is  obnoxious  to  all  the  charges  we  have  laid 
against  them. 

"  An  itinerant  revivalist  makes  his  first  entree  into  a  place, 
with  the  advantage  of  a  certain  sort  of  celebrity,  as  a  preach- 
er of  prodigious  power  and  unparalleled  interest,  and  a 
worker  of  wonders  in  the  way  of  producing  revivals.  He 
is  often  sent  for,  under  the  idea  that  his  advent  will  certain- 
ly bring  with  it  a  revival,  and  his  fame  is  trumpeted  before 
him  on  the  wings  of  the  wind.    By  means  of  this,  and  the 


NEW  MEASURES. 


275 


free  application  of  the  style  of  preaching  we  have  described, 
day  after  day,  and  night  after  night,  a  crowd  is  soon  gather- 
ed to  witness  this  strange  thing,  and  see  whereunto  it  will 
come.  Unless  these  means  have  already  become  stale,  and 
bereft  of  the  charm  of  novelty  and  freshness,  by  frequent 
repetition,  unless  they  have  thus  exhausted  the  excitability 
and  curiosity  of  the  people,  or  unless  their  true  nature  and 
tendency  have  come  to  be  generally  understood,  or  there  are 
other  unpropitious  circumstances,  they  will  rally  all  sorts  of 
people  to  witness  the  spectacle,  whether  they  approve  or 
disapprove  it.  And  now  the  preacher  is  pretty  sure  to  an- 
nounce that  a  '  shaking'  is  about  to  occur  under  his  labours, 
such  as  passes  all  former  example,  and  points  to  the  sensa- 
tion already  made,  the  crowds  of  people  rushing  to  hear 
him,  as  premonitory  symptoms  of  what  will  be  witnessed  by 
those  who  shall  be  on  the  ground  a  few  weeks  hence. 
Moreover,  he  teaches  the  praying  people,  that  if  they  will  of- 
fer the  'prayer  of  faith,'  they  can  procure  whatever  conver- 
sions, and  as  much  of  a  revival,  as  they  ask.  Thus  the  in- 
dications of  a  revival  are  made  at  once  to  appear.  And  now 
the  great  labour  is  to  accumulate  all  excitements  from  heav- 
en, earth,  and  hell,  that  urge  an  immediate  taking  of  the  great 
resolve,  which  is  deemed  equivalent  to  passing  from  death  to 
life,  and  here  is  tested  whatever  virtue  there  is  in  efforts  de- 
scriptive and  histrionic,  to  make  the  auditory  see  themselves 
in  the  grasp  of  death,  or  standing  before  the  judgment  seat 
of  Christ,  or  hear  the  sentence  of  the  judge,  or  inhale  the 
sulphureous  fumes  of  the  pit,  or  the  balmy  fragrance  of  the 
paradise  above,  to  hear  the  frantic  shrieks  of  the  damned,  or 
catch  the  transporting  melodies  of  heaven,  and  thus  to  make 
the  present  seem  the  last  moment  in  which  the  lake  of  fire 
can  be  exchanged  for  immortal  bliss,  and  in  this  way  to  im- 
pel to  that  resolution  to  serve  the  Lord,  which  is  made  one 


276 


NEW  MEASURES. 


with  spiritual  regeneration.  That  the  truths  thus  brought  to 
view  are  most  necessary  to  be  enforced  powerfully,  and  felt 
vividly,  especially  in  a  religious  revival,  we  know  full  well. 
But  then  they  must  be  unfolded  in  their  proper  places  and 
proportions,  according  to  the  analogy  of  faith.  And  unless 
properly  accompanied  with  other  evangelical  truths,  they  be- 
come incentives  to  spurious  conversions  and  false  hopes,  in- 
stead of  that  faith  which  works  by  love,  and  purifies  the  heart. 
But  this  process  alone  is  found  ordinarily  not  to  be  suffici- 
ently stimulating;  hence,  in  order  to  hasten  and  develope 
the  work  still  more  palpably,  certain  measures,  as  they  have 
been  styled,  are  usually  introduced  at  a  favourable  crisis.* 

♦I  can  corroborate  the  inefficiency  of  the  preaching  of  such  "  revival- 
ists," without  the  use  of  their  peculiar  "  measuies,"  by  an  experiment 
which  I  tried  some  years  ago.  There  had  been  in  my  church,  at  the  time 
alluded  to,  a  very  interesting  state  of  religious  feeling.  I  had  been  preach- 
ing for  three  or  four  evenings  every  week  for  several  months  in  suc- 
cession. The  meetings  were  unusually  solemn,  and  a  considerable  num- 
ber had  been  hopefully  converted  to  God.  In  this  state  of  things,  several 
of  the  members  of  the  church  suggested  the  expediency  of  inviting  a  certain 
"  revival  preacher,"  who,  at  that  period,  was  producing  great  excitements 
in  different  parts  of  the  country.  Upon  reflection,  1  determined  to  try  the 
experiment,  provided  I  could  obtain  his  assistance  without  the  introduction 
of  his  new  measures.  I  had  seen  enough,  in  my  native  city,  of  the  fruits 
of  such  machinery,  and  witnessed  enough  of  the  ultimate  results  of  such 
measures,  in  the  field  of  my  present  labours;  and  was,  therefore,  from 
the  very  outset  of  my  ministry,  determined  never  to  employ  them  or 
countenance  their  use  by  others.  I  accordingly  wrote  to  the  revivalist — 
explaining  to  him  my  views,  and  inviting  him  to  come  and  labour  with 
me,  if  he  could  dispense  with  his  objectionable  apparatus.  He  replied  that 
he  would  come  with  pleasure — that  while  he  thought  that,  under  some  cir- 
cumstances, such  measuies  were  useful,  they  were  not  always  desirable, 
much  less  indispensably  necessary— that  for  himself,  he  depended  mainly 
upon  the  blessing  of  God  on  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel— and  that,  if  he 
came,  he  would  not  think  of  introducing  any  measure  in  opposition  to 
my  judgment,  &c.  Well,  he  came;  and,  at  his  suggestion,  another  broth- 
er to  co-operate  with  him.    They  preached  alternately  for  nearly  a  week, 


NEW  MEASURES. 


277 


They  have  reference  to  that  well  understood  principle  of 
human  nature,  which  is  ashamed  to  renounce  any  course  to 
which  it  is  publicly  committed,  and  on  this  they  chiefly  de- 
pend for  the  efficacy. 

"  One  measure  commonly  resorted  to  at  an  early  stage  of 
these  proceedings  is,  a  call  upon  all  persons  in  the  assem- 
bly who  are  determined  or  disposed  to  ccme  out  on  the 
Lord's  side,  or  to  flee  from  destruction,  or  seek  heaven, 
to  indicate  it  by  rising,  and  all  who  are  of  a  contrary  mind, 
to  indicate  it  by  keeping  their  seats.  In  this  case,  if  those 
who  are  really  determined  to  serve  the  Lord,  respond  to  the 
call,  it  is  quite  certain,  that  most  of  those  who  are  not,  will 
join  them.    When  men  of  the  world  are  unexpectedly  sur- 

and  held  social  meetings  for  prayer.  But  their  preaching  produced  no 
good  effect;  and  the  religious  feeling  existing  in  the  congregation  at  the 
lime  they  commenced  their  labours,  daily  and  rapidly  diminished.  Of  this 
they  appeared  to  be  themselves  convinced — for,  after  labouring  a  day  or 
two,  the  chief  "revivalist"  began  privately  to  intimate,  that  nothing  could 
be  done,  unless  some  measure  w as  resorted  to  for  the  purpose  of  bringing 
sinners  to  a  decision,  &c.  I  reminded  him  of  his  previous  pledge;  and  told 
him  positively  that  no  novel  measure  should  be  employed.  He  seemed  to 
be  still  dissatisfied;  when  I  told  him  that,  if  he  was  not  willing  to  continue 
to  preach  and  pray,  without  the  use  of  new  measures, I  would  publicly  state 
all  the  facts  to  the  people,  and  put  an  end  at  once  to  the  protracted  meet- 
ing. He  looked  at  me  as  if  doubting  whether  I  meant  what  I  had  said, 
when  I  again  repeated  the  same  words,  and  assured  him  that  I  was  never 
more  decided  in  my  life.  He  then  dropped  the  subject,  and  the  services 
went  on — the  preaching  becoming  in  fact  every  day  more  flat  and  sopo- 
rific. This  experiment  convinced  me  that  the  "revival  preachers"  are 
powerless  without  their  usual  machinery — that  the  popular  excitements 
which  they  produce,  are  effected  by  their  peculiar  apparatus,  and  not  by 
the  blessing  of  God  upon  their  exhibitions  of  divine  truth.  The  experi- 
ment was  not  without  this  advantage — that  no  such  "  revivalists"  have 
since  been  desired  by  any  of  the  members  of  my  flock; — but  it  was,  alas  ! 
too  expensive,  inasmuch,  as  I  have  every  reason  to  believe,  that  the  work 
of  God,  which  had  been  progressing  for  months,  was  by  it  materially 
checked  and  injured. 


278 


NEW  MEASURES. 


prised  into  a  dilemma,  one  horn  of  which  is  to  go  along  with 
a  bewildered  and  excited  concourse  of  people,  and  the  other 
to  be  set  down  in  the  black  list,  as  sinners  of  extraordi- 
nary hardihood  and  desperation,  very  few  have  nerve  and 
courage  enough  to  choose  the  latter.  We  consider  this  pro- 
cedure no  better  than  a  trap  to  ensnare  men  into  insincere, 
or,  in  the  best  view,  inconsiderate  professions.  We  know 
it  has  been  resorted  to  for  the  promotion  of  many  worthy 
objects,  in  a  manner,  however,  which  involves  less  of  the 
nature  and  sanctity  of  a  vow  to  the  Lord  than  in  this  case, 
with  the  design  of  extorting  professions  and  pledges  in  their 
behalf,  from  persons  who  never  expected  to  make  them. 
But  in  the  end,  this  trick,  like  all  other  tricks,  cannot  fail  to 
re-act  disastrously  upon  any  good  cause  which  adopts  it. 
In  the  case  of  thus  publicly  calling  on  men  to  disclose  their 
religious  character,  their  pride  is  appealed  to  virtually,  first 
to  induce  them  to  profess  themselves  religious,  and  then  to 
induce  them  to  preserve  at  least  an  outward  and  seeming 
conformity  to  the  professions  to  which  they  have  thus  been 
ensnared  to  commit  themselves.  Indeed,  we  have  heard  an 
enthusiastic  defender  of  a  celebrated  revivalist,  who  is  now 
in  the  full  tide  of  successful  experiment,  allege  the  influence 
of  pride  in  holding  men  to  professions  already  made,  as  the 
great  reason  and  justification  of  all  his  manifold  artifices 
to  get  men  publicly  committed  to  become  pious.  Moreover, 
in  most  cases,  the  preacher  will  largely  expatiate  upon  the 
importance  and  necessity  of  taking  a  stand  before  men,  by 
means  of  this  and  certain  other  measures,  which  we  shall 
presently  notice,  as  being  the  grand  and  decisive  step  on 
which  their  conversion  depends.  When  this  is  done,  no 
matter  how  many  salvos  the  preacher  throws  in  to  clear  him- 
self from  the  charge  of  teaching  the  obvious  delusion,  that 
such  a  step  is  scriptural  regeneration,  the  anxious  hearer, 


NEW  MEASURES. 


279 


ready  to  catch  at  a  straw,  infallibly  understands  that  this  step 
is  either  identical  with,  or  evidential  of,  or  certainly  antece- 
dent to,  true  conversion;  and  that  if  taken  with  a  desire  of 
getting  religion,  it  is  one  of  the  things  that  accompany  salva- 
tion. And  when  a  large  concourse  have  thus  publicly  com- 
mitted themselves  to  be  religious,  the  news  spreads  far  and 
wide,  that  a  great  religious  awakening  or  revival  is  in  pro- 
gress in  under  the  labours  of  the  Rev.  Mr.   . 

"  In  order  to  perfect  this  public  commitment,  recourse  is 
usually  had  to  another  series  of  expedients.  Certain  seats, 
rooms,  or  other  localities,  are  allotted  to  persons  in  various 
conditions  of  mind.  Some  have  a  miscalled  altar,  to  which 
all  persons  who  wish  conversion  must  come  to  be  prayed  lor. 
Others  set  off  a  certain  number  of  seats,  usually  those  near- 
est the  pulpit,  which  they  style  '  anxious  seats,'  which  an- 
swer the  purpose  of  the  altar  already  mentioned.  To  these 
are  often  added  '  decision  seats,'  '  hoping  seats,'  &c.  &c. 
Instead  of  seats,  sometimes  a  particular  room  is  used,  styled 
the  '  anxious'  or  '  inquiry'  room;  and  another  styled  the 
'  young  convert's'  room.  Or  some  other  expedient  is  adopt- 
ed answering  the  same  purpose.  And  now  all  the  influen- 
ces already  adverted  to,  and  every  other  device  which  can 
reach  the  human  sensibilities,  are  put  in  motion  to  induce 
sinners  to  come  to  the  anxious  seat,  room  or  altar.  They 
are  made  practically  to  believe  that  their  salvation  is  staked 
upon  it.  Of  course,  if  there  is  any  excitement,  great  num- 
bers rush  to  this  hallowed  point  of  entrance  into  the  king- 
dom of  God.  Here  they  soon  learn  that  the  new  birth  is  an 
act  of  their  own  sovereign  power  of  willing,  in  which  they 
choose  God  instead  of  the  world,  or  determine  to  serve  him, 
or  come  out  on  his  side,  or  give  themselves  to  him — an  act 
to  which  they  are  at  this  moment,  as  at  all  times,  every  way 
competent.    This  is  usually  followed  by  what  is  sometimes 


280 


NEW  MEASURES. 


called  the  '  dedicatory'  prayer — a  prayer  in  which  the  speak- 
er calls  on  his  hearers  to  unite  with  him  in  giving  themselves 
to  God,  and  uses  expressions  in  accordance  with  his  previ- 
ous instructions.  And  in  the  emphatic  phrase  of  Mr.  Fin- 
ney, large  numbers  '  in  the  space  of  a  few  minutes  come 
right  out  on  the  Lord's  side;'  ripe  for  the  decision  seats,  or 
hoping  seats,  or  young  convert's  room,  or  any  other  place  to 
which  they  may  be  allotted.  It  is  very  common,  in  order  to 
rally  greater  numbers  around  the  anxious  seats,  for  leaders 
in  the  work,  sometimes  the  preacher  himself,  to  go  around 
the  house  and  address  individuals  singly,  urging  them  to  the 
anxious  seat  or  altar,  and  in  order  more  effectually  to  awe 
and  startle  them,  they  often  pray  for  them  aloud  by  name. 
This  is  done  in  many  cases,  while  others  are  publicly  pray- 
ing or  exhorting.  In  order  still  further  to  perfect  the  com- 
mitment, it  is  usually  insisted  on  as  a  capital  point,  that 
young  converts  should  rise  and  state  their  feelings  and  pur- 
poses, and  otherwise  exhort  and  pray  in  the  meetings.  This 
heightens  the  startling  effect  of  the  rest  of  the  proceedings, 
and  ministers  fresh  food  to  restless  curiosity  and  love  of  ex- 
citement in  the  assembling  and  gazing  crowds.  When  the 
proceedings  reach  this  pass,  whatever  of  decorum,  sobriety 
and  rationality  may  have  attended  the  beginning  of  the  ex- 
citement, are  usually  supplanted  by  phrenzied  and  tumul- 
tuous excitement,  and  '  confusion  worse  confounded'  takes 
the  place  of  the  solemn  order  and  decency  that  befit  the 
house  of  God. 

"  That  by  this  course  of  procedure,  going  to  the  anx- 
ious seat  or  altar  becomes  the  great  matter  in  conversion,  in 
the  view  of  those  who  go  to  it,  admits,  we  think,  of  no  dis- 
pute. We  know  that  these  preachers  try  to  evade  the  re- 
sponsibility of  inculcating  a  sentiment  so  self-evidently  ab- 
surd and  pernicious,  by  taking  care  to  say  that  this  step 


NEW  MEASURES. 


281 


has  no  intrinsic  virtue  or  efficacy  in  it;  and  that,  in  itself 
considered,  praying  and  preaching  may  be  as  salutary 
to  an  individual  in  one  part  of  a  church  as  another:  but 
then  they  are  ever  careful  to  add,  that  there  is  a  something 
in  some  way  connected  with  or  consequent  upon  taking  the 
anxious  seat,  which  makes  it  almost  if  not  altogether  the 
turning  point  of  their  salvation  or  perdition.  And  what  mat- 
ters it,  as  to  the  real  importance  and  efficacy  of  the  anxious 
seat,  whether  it  cause  conversion  per  se,  or  by  means  of  its 
necessary  adjuncts  and  consequences.  They  often  say  that 
'  the  seat  is  indeed  nothing  in  itself,  but  going  to  it 
serves  to  break  down  pride,  and  is  taking  the  cross,  with- 
out which  men  cannot  be  saved.'  But  are  not  bearing  the 
cross,  and  breaking  down  pride,  things  which  accompany 
salvation,  and  is  not  that  which  produces  these  things  the 
cause  of  conversion  ?  How  then  do  these  evasions  help  the 
case  ?  Does  not  the  anxious  seat  stand  in  the  sinner's  mind 
after  all  as  the  great  point  of  transition  into  the  kingdom  of 
God  ?  Can  it  be  otherwise,  if  a  few  stories  are  told  as  they 
always  are,  showing  how  persons  who  have  refused  to  come 
up  to  the  altar  or  anxious  seat  have  been  kept  out  of  the 
hope  and  peace  of  the  gospel,  until  they  yielded  the  point, 
and  on  repairing  to  it,  immediately  had  joy  and  peace  in  be- 
lieving ? 

"  Besides,  it  is  a  fixed  principle,  that  wherever  uncom- 
manded  outward  rites  and  observances  are  conceived  to  have 
an  important  agency  in  procuring  the  divine  favour,  there 
they  overshadow,  or  rather  supplant,  in  the  practical  estima- 
tion of  men,  the  real  righteousness  which  God  requires.  We 
believe  this  to  be  an  unvarying  fact.  The  same  is  true  of 
rites  having  a  scriptural  warrant,  if  they  are  invested  with  an 
importance  and  efficacy  which  the  Bible  does  not  attach  to 
them.  Those  who  made  so  much  of  tithing  mint,  anise  and 
36 


282 


NEW  MEASURES. 


cumin,  neglected  the  weightier  matters  of  the  law,  judg- 
ment, mercy  and  faith.  This  is  the  essence  of  formalism 
and  hypocrisy,  and  has  been  the  vice  of  the  sacramental 
party  in  the  church  in  all  ages.  No  doctrine  is  so  sweet  and 
exhilarating  to  the  unregenerate  heart  as  the  idea  that  some 
external  ceremony  propitiates  the  favour  of  God.  It  is  eager- 
ly grasped  as  a  substitute  for  the  spiritual  conformity  of  the 
heart  to  the  divine  law,  and  for  the  prostration  of  all  person- 
al pride  and  self-complacency,  in  order  to  be  justified  exclu- 
sively by  the  merits  of  Christ.  Hence,  in  some  form,  it  has 
been  the  characteristic  ingredient  of  every  form  of  heathen 
superstition  and  spurious  Christianity.  Where  uncommand- 
ed  rites  especially  are  exalted,  so  as  to  be  deemed  influential 
in  procuring  the  divine  favour,  they  at  once  usurp  the  place 
which  belongs  to  the  true  objects  of  spiritual  worship,  and 
are  regarded  with  downright  superstition.  The  invocation 
of  saints,  the  worship  of  the  virgin,  the  bodily  penances  and 
asceticism,  and  all  the  rites  of  the  Romish  Church  confirm 
and  illustrate  this  remark.  Who  does  not  know  that  the 
anxious  seat,  room  or  altar,  is  extensively  regarded  with  a 
similar  superstition  by  those  who  subject  themselves  to  their 
exorcisms  ?  As  to  the  caveats,  which  warn  the  people  not 
to  regard  them  as  having  an  inherent,  but  only  an  attendant 
or  consequential  efficacy,  who  does  not  know  that  every  Rom- 
ish rite  is  enveloped  by  its  advocates  in  a  mist  of  sophistry 
far  more  subtle  and  attenuated  than  this  ?  But  what  do  such 
minute  distinctions  avail  with  the  bewildered  mass  on  whom 
these  rites  are  imposed?**** 

"  That  under  this  lashing  process,  immense  numbers 
should  be  spurred  to  form  and  publicly  indicate  their  deter- 
mination to  serve  the  Lord,  and  that  the  number  of  such 
converts  may  be  equal  to  that  blazoned  in  the  printed  ac- 
counts of  these  excitements,  is  by  no  means  improbable. 


NEW  MEASURES. 


283 


As  to  resolutions  to  be  holy,  made  by  men  with  unregenerate 
hearts,  we  have  a  memorable  instance  recorded  in  Deut.  v.  27 
— 29,  «  Go  thou  near,  and  hear  all  that  the  Lord  our  God 
shall  say;  and  speak  thou  unto  us  all  that  the  Lord  our  God 
shall  speak  unto  thee;  and  we  will  hear  it  and  do  it. 
And  the  Lord  heard  the  voice  of  your  words,  when  ye  spake 
unto  me;  and  the  Lord  said  unto  me,  I  have  heard  the  voice 
of  the  words  of  this  people,  which  they  have  spoken  unto 
thee:  they  have  well  said  all  that  they  have  spoken.  O, 

THAT  THERE  WTERE  SUCH  A  HEART  IN  THEM,  that  they  WOUld 

fear  me,  and  keep  all  my  commandments  always,  that  it 
might  be  well  with  them  and  their  children  forever.'  The 
great  vice  of  the  resolutions  of  the  unregenerate  is,  that  be- 
ing made  by  the  '  will  of  the  flesh,'  while  the  affections  of  the 
heart  are  still  impure,  there  is  not  such  a  heart  in  those 
who  make  them,  that  they  will  keep  God's  commandments 
always.  Nothing  is  more  common  than  for  graceless  men, 
under  mere  legal  conviction,  and  terrors  wrought  by  the  com- 
mon operations  of  the  Spirit,  or  in  seasons  of  affliction,  to 
make  resolutions  to  live  righteously,  and  adopt  a  correspond- 
ing reformation  of  life,  which  in  different  persons  is  of  vari- 
ous extent  and  duration.  Nay,  the  whole  form  of  religion 
may  be  assumed  without  its  power.  The  spirit  of  bondage 
may  goad  the  subject  of  it  to  the  earnest  purpose  to  obey 
the  will  of  God,  and  to  put  forth  all  the  appearances  of 
piety.  But  the  living  and  abiding  root  of  grace  in  the  soul 
is  wanting;  so  that  there  is  no  living  faith,  no  life-giving 
union  to  Christ,  the  only  source  of  supplies  of  strength  and 
growth,  no  inward  transformation  by  the  renewing  of  the 
mind,  no  true  spirit  of  adoption,  no  love  of  holiness  for  its 
own  sake.  In  this  sense,  many  are  partakers  of  the  heav- 
enly gift,  and  taste  the  powers  of  the  world  to  come,  who 
sooner  or  later  fall  away.    Many  anon  hear  the  word  with 


284 


NEW  MEASURES. 


joy,  who,  when  tribulation  ariseth  because  of  the  word,  are 
straightway  offended.  Many,  under  the  impulse  of  selfish 
hope  or  fear,  or  from  a  pride  of  consistency,  keep  up  an  out- 
ward and  barren  form  of  godliness  through  life,  who  never- 
theless have  no  living  principle  of  thrift  and  growth,  and 
manifest  none  of  the  precious  fruits  of  the  Spirit.**** 

"  We  by  no  means  intend  to  intimate  that  none,  or  even 
few  of  those  who  profess  religion  under  such  circumstances, 
prove  in  the  end  to  be  real  Christians,  and  to  walk  as  be- 
cometh  the  gospel  of  Christ.  We  rejoice  in  the  belief  that 
there  are  many  such.  But,  as  concerns  the  instrumental 
cause  of  this,  we  ascribe  them  chiefly  to  other  agencies, 
which  are  wholly  unnoticed  in  the  blazing  accounts  of  these 
excitements  that  are  paraded  in  the  public  prints.  We  as- 
cribe them  to  previous  religious  instruction,  to  the  sabbath 
school,  to  pastoral  preaching,  prayer  and  other  labours;  to 
the  teachings,  prayers  and  tears  of  godly  parents.*  **** 

"  That  we  have  not  exaggerated  the  true  character  and  re- 
sults of  these  manceuvi-es,  is  attested  by  the  concurrent  voice 
of  all  competent  witnesses  in  any  degree  acquainted  with 
them.  To  present  any  considerable  part  of  this  description 
of  evidence,  which  has  been  accumulating  the  last  ten  years, 

♦There  can  be  no  doubt  but  that  the  sound  conversions  which  take 
place  during  such  excitements,  is  owing  chiefly  to  the  previous  instruc- 
tion of  intelligent  and  faithful  pastors — of  pastors  whose  churches  are 
often  subsequently  deserted,  and  whose  ministry  is  often  afterwards  spo- 
ken of  in  the  most  contemptuous,  ungrateful  and  uncharitable  manner  I 
And  there  is  as  little  room  for  doubt,  that,  had  many,  if  not  all  such,  con- 
fined themselves  to  the  scriptural  ministrations  cf  their  pastors,  and  to 
the  use  of  the  ordinary  but  divinely  appointed  means  of  grace,  they 
would  have  been  eventually  renewed  and  brought  into  the  spiritual  king- 
dom of  God — and  that  too,  under  circumstances  far  more  favourable  to 
the  formation  of  Christian  character  and  their  subsequent  growth  in 
grace. 


NEW  MEASURES. 


285 


would  itself  fill  the  usual  space  allotted  to  an  article.  We 
shall  barely  exhibit  as  a  specimen  the  last  that  has  come  in 
our  way.  It  is  from  a  concio  ad  clerum,  preached  by  Rev. 
A.  Newton,  at  the  late  commencement  of  the  Western  Re- 
serve College.  It  is,  therefore,  from  a  source  not  liable  to 
the  imputation  of  being  warped  by  '  Old  School  prejudices.' 
We  take  the  following  extract  from  the  New  England  Puri- 
tan, of  Sept.  23,  1841.    Ex  uno  disce  omnes. 

"  '  I  do  not  know  that  any  of  our  modern  evangelists 
would  consent  to  labour  in  a  place  at  all,  unless  they  could 
be  allowed  to  hold  a  meeting  of  five  or  six  weeks  in  continu- 
ance. During  these  meetings  it  is  expected  that  Christians 
will  suspend  much  of  the  ordinary  business  of  life — that  they 
will  attend  meetings  from  three  to  five  times  a  day — that 
they  will  confess  their  sins  in  public — that  they  will  con- 
verse with  the  impenitent — and  generally,  do  what  they  have 
perhaps  never  done,  and  what  they  are  not  expected  to  con- 
tinue to  do  for  a  great  length  of  time.  Furthermore,  there 
is  generally  incorporated  with  this  system  the  practice  of 
dividing  off  those  who  seem  to  be  affected  with  religious 
truth  into  classes,  and  assigning  to  them  different  seats, 
which  take  their  names  from  the  supposed  spiritual  condition 
of  their  occupants — as  anxious  seats — decision  seats — hop- 
ing seats,  &c.  It  is  not  an  uncommon  thing  to  call  persons 
by  name  in  prayer.  There  is  also  very  generally  encouraged 
a  style  and  manner  of  praying  so  grossly  familiar,  as  to 
shock  most  minds  unaccustomed  to  it;  and  a  manner  of 
preaching  is  practised,  which  is  calculated  rather  to  affect  the 
imagination  and  the  passions,  than  enlighten  the  understand- 
ing and  impress  the  conscience  and  the  heart.' 

"  He  further  lays  to  the  account  of  this  system,  the  pro- 
ducing of  many  spurious  conversions.  And  after  showing 
how  it  produces  the  result,  he  says: 


286 


NEW  MEASURES. 


But  what  do  facts  teach  us  on  this  subject?  If  any 
reliance  can  be  placed  on  the  testimony  of  some  of  the  most 
discriminating  and  judicious  pastors,  whose  churches  have 
been  the  theatre  of  these  operations,  we  must  believe  that 
the  system  does  produce  a  large  proportion  of  unsound  con- 
versions. I  am  not  permitted  to  name  persons  or  places, 
but  I  may  say  that  in  one  church  where  an  evangelist  was 
employed,  more  than  half  that  united  with  the  church,  prov- 
ed, within  two  or  three  years,  in  the  estimation  of  the  pas- 
tor, to  be  destitute  of  piety;  that  in  another  where  upwards 
of  one  hundred  conversions  were  proclaimed,  not  fifteen,  in 
the  opinion  of  the  pastor,  ever  gave  evidence  of  a  saving 
change;  and  the  children  who  had  been  thought  converts, 
were  pronounced  by  their  school  teachers  to  be  seven-fold 
worse  than  before;  and  that  in  another  church  where  an  evan- 
gelist had  laboured  with  great  apparent  success,  the  pastor  in 
less  than  a  year  afterwards  declared  that  of  the  two  hundred 
who  united  with  his  church  in  the  season  of  excitement,  not 
more  than  fifty  gave  satisfactory  evidence  of  piety.  These 
three  examples  are  adduced  as  fair  illustrations  of  the  effects 
of  the  system.  The  revivals  occurred  in  different  places,  and 
were  all  conducted  by  different  evangelists.  And  from  an 
inquiry  somewhat  extensive  on  this  subject,  I  have  good 
reason  to  believe  that  not  a  much  greater  proportion  of  sound 
conversions  has  been  the  result  of  such  efforts  generally  for 
the  last  six  or  eight  years.'* 

•The  history  of  the  Third  Presbyterian  Church  of  Baltimore,  prior  to 
my  pastoral  connection  with  it,  furnishes  abundant  evidence  of  the  ruin- 
ous effects  of  new  measures.  It  may  not  be  generally  known,  from  the 
present  character  and  standing  of  the  congregation,  that  this  system  was 
for  many  years  in  use  in  this  church.  It  had  frequent  "  revivals"— so 
called— an  account  of  one  of  which  is  still  extant  in  pamphlet  form. 
During  these  seasons  of  excitement,  numbers  were  added  to  the  commu- 


NEW  MEASURES. 


287 


"  Our  limits  will  now  only  permit  a  cursory  glance  at 
some  of  the  more  flagrant  evils  resulting  from  this  whole 
system,  which  have  not  been  distinctly  noted  in  the  forego- 
ing analysis. 

"  These  are  only  so  many  developments  of  that  law  which 
governs  the  use  of  preternatural  stimulants,  throughout  eve- 
ry department  of  animated  existence.  They  are  neither 
foodful  nor  nutritious.  Though  they  may  goad  for  the  mo- 
ment into  a  spasmodic  energy  and  excitement,  they  do  it 
by  taxing  those  latent,  residuary  powers,  which  constitute  a 
reserve  force  for  future  emergencies,  and  consequently,  in  a 
brief  period,  induce  a  greater  debility  than  they  found. 
Now  all  these  expedients  for  producing  a  religious  excite- 

nion  of  the  church  ;  and  the  congregation  was  reported,  at  various 
times,  as  being  in  a  highly  prosperous  and  growing  state.  But  the  truth 
is,  that  the  greater  part  of  the  converts  would  not  slay  convened;  and  left 
the  church  about  as  fast  as  they  were  brought  into  it.  One  minister  af- 
ter another  took  charge  of  it;  and  each,  after  raising  expectation  by  his 
revival  machinery,  was  in  mm  obliged  to  abandon  it.  In  short,  the 
church  was  revived,  and  re-revived,  until  it  was  nearly  revived  to  death! 
The  expedients  resorted  to  were  only  temporary  in  their  reviving  effects, 
and  left  the  church  in  a  worse  and  worse  condition.  The  conduct  of 
some  of  the  operators  resembled  that  of  certain  planters,  who  care  not  for 
the  ultimate  impoverishment  of  the  soil,  so  that  they  can  only  reap  a  few 
good  crops.  The  church,  in  the  empha'.ic  language  of  one  of  its  early 
friends,  was  like  a  good  cow — milked,  but  not  fed;  and  as  soon  as  it  be- 
came dry,  the  milker  was  off,  to  pursue  the  same  easy  and  exhausting 
process  somewhere  else.  When  I  came  here,  it  would  have  been  difficult 
to  have  found  a  dozen  left  in  the  church,  who  had  been  "  brought  out" 
under  the  high  pressure  system;  and  the  congregation  itself  was  on  the 
eve  of  total  extinction.  One  fact  will  illustrate  the  illusion  of  such  mea- 
sures. On  one  page  of  the  Minutes  of  the  Presbytery,  a  flaming  narra- 
tive of  a  work  of  grace  in  the  church,  is  given  by  the  gentleman  who 
was  then  its  minister,  and  the  effects  of  it  upon  the  prospective  interests 
of  the  congregation  spoken  of  in  glowing  terms:  when,  lo !  on  the  very 
next  page,  the  record  is  made  of  the  dissolution  of  his  connection  with 
the  church,  on  the  ground  of  inadequate  pecuniary  support!    By  one 


288 


NEW  MEASURES. 


ment,  are  but  so  many  stimulants  of  man's  inventing,  ap- 
plied to  the  natural  susceptibilities,  to  produce  a  transient 
stir  and  commotion  on  the  subject  of  religion.  They  are  a 
substitute  for  the  regenerating  work  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in 
the  soul,  implanting  new  principles  of  hearty  love  and  obe- 
dience to  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus.  They  are  therefore  per- 
fectly analogous  to  those  stimulants  of  the  physical  system, 
which  excite  a  transient,  unnatural,  and  almost  a  demoniac 
power,  but  instead  of  imparting  real,  abiding  strength,  only 
consume  and  exhaust  it.  As  under  the  application  of  these 
stimulants  there  is  a  degree  of  overwrought,  morbid  excite- 
ment, which  the  human  system  cannot  long  endure,  so,  im- 
mediately on  their  cessation,  there  is  a  terrible  relapse.  An 

who  has  not  been  placed  in  similar  circumstances,  it  would  be  impossible 
to  estimate  the  difficulties  which  were  thus  entailed  upon  the  present  pas- 
tor of  the  church.  For  a  year  or  two,  I  could  do  but  little  else  than  teach 
the  people  what  religion  is  not;  and  endeavour  to  counteract  the  unfa- 
vourable impressions  which  had  been  made  upon  the  community  in  con- 
sequence of  previous  and  frequent  failures  to  resuscitate  the  church. 
And  for  many,  many  years,  were  we  obliged  to  struggle  with  an  onerous 
debt,  contracted  in  great  part,  for  the  purpose  of  paying  the  salaries  of 
one  and  another  of  the  revival  ministers  who  had  been  from  time  to  time 
employed. 

Moieover, — to  say  nothing  of  the  character,  generally,  of  converts 
made  by  such  machinery, — it  is  found  that  the  number  added  to  the  church 
was  not  as  great  as  has  since  been  added,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  upon  the 
ordinary  means  of  grace  The  congregation  was  organized  on  the  5th 
day  of  May,  1822;  and  up  to  the  summer  of  1830,  a  period  of  eight  years, 
according  to  the  sessional  records,  there  had  been  added  to  the  church 
tvie  hundred  and  twenty  persons.  During  the  first  eight  years  of  my  min- 
istry, that  is,  from  1830  to  1838,  there  were  added  to  the  church  thret 
hundred  and  Jive  persons;  or  eighty-five  more  than  during  the  same  period 
under  the  high  pressure  system.  And,  blessed  be  God,  with  the  exception 
of  those  who  have  gone  to  their  eternal  rest,  and  those  who  from  time  to 
time  have  removed  from  the  city,  and  some  few  who  have,  alas !  back- 
slider—they remain  to  this  day,  the  worthy  members  of  the  church— my 
hope  and  joy  and  crown  of  rejoicing! 


NEW  MEASURES. 


289 


awful  torpor  usually  ensues,  and  that,  in  most  cases,  imme- 
diately. 

"  The  ordinary  means  of  grace,  the  unadulterated  milk 
and  meat  of  divine  truth,  cease  to  invigorate  and  quicken 
those  who  have  been  subjected  to  these  exorcisms,  just  as  nu- 
tritious food  will  not  give  the  requisite  tone  to  the  system 
which  has  been  chiefly  kept  up  by  narcotic  or  alchobolic 
stimulants.  Hence  preaching,  and  all  other  means  of  grace, 
are  beyond  precedent,  striptof  all  power  and  interest  among 
a  people  thus  hardened  and  stupified.  All  the  plain  and 
solemn  services  of  the  sanctuary,  as  conducted  by  a  stated 
ministry,  become  ineffably  tame  and  dull  to  those  who  have 
so  long  been  regaling  themselves  on  dioll  stories,  startling 
paradoxes,  and  degrading  or  delusive  illustrations.  Wor- 
shipping assemblies  speedily  become  thin  and  inattentive. 
Decay  and  langour  rapidly  mark  every  thing  pertaining  to  the 
cause  of  religion.  Things  wax  worse  and  worse.  And  the 
withering  re-action  is  equal  to  the  overheated  action.  Asa 
necessary  result,  a  species  of  infatuation  ordinarily  possesses 
at  least  the  leaders  in  these  transactions.  Those  who  are 
quickened  by  morbid  stimulants,  instead  of  attributing  their 
subsequent  lassitude  and  other  distempers  to  the  true  cause, 
will  usually  charge  them  upon  something  else:  perhaps  upon 
influences  most  salutary  in  their  nature.  So  in  this  case. 
They  usually  charge  their  decay  and  exhaustion  upon  those 
Christians  and  ministers  who  will  not  fall  in  with  and  endorse 
such  proceedings,  styling  them  'Achans',  'stumbling  blocks,' 
&c.  &c.  Or  they  charge  it  upon  the  want  of  the  'revival 
spirit,  or  revival  preaching,'  in  the  pastor,  who  may  be  en- 
deavouring, by  a  judicious  course  of  instruction,  to  restore  the 
chaotic  mass  to  a  state  of  order  and  thrift. 

"  Hence  the  remedy  for  this  prostration  and  debility,  which 
is  always  resorted  to,  unless  God  graciously  dispel  their 
37 


290 


NEW  MEASUBKS. 


blindness,  is  a  more  liberal  use  of  the  same  sort  of  means 
which  produced  them.  A  mere  repetition  of  the  same  pre- 
cise measures  is  usually  stale,  and  has  little  power  to  rouse 
the  people.  As  novelty  and  strangeness  formed  a  chief  in- 
gredient in  the  exciting  power  of  their  first  measures,  so  these 
qualities  vanish  at  each  repetition,  unless  produced  by  some 
new  devices  still  more  strange  and  startling  in  their  nature 
and  disastrous  in  their  results.  And  this  process  usually 
goes  on  from  bad  to  worse,  in  places  not  cured  of  the  love  of 
such  things,  till  the  folly  of  these  operators  becomes  manifest, 
and  they  can  go  no  further,  having  tried  experiment  after  ex- 
periment, till  the  most  desperate  expedients  cease  to  affect  the 
people.  Thus  Mr.  Finney,  who,  in  his  discourse  on  measures, 
insists  that  there  must  always  be  something  new,  has  tried 
every  expedient,  doctrinal  and  practical,  he  has  at  last  taken 
up  Perfectionism  as  the  magic  instrument  which  is  to  rouse 
the  church  to  a  higher  standard  of  action,  and  revive  those 
slumbering  professors,  whom  he  so  emphatically  denounced 
as  a  disgrace  to  religion.  And  his  folly  has  become  man- 
ifest to  multitudes  who  never  could  see  it  before.  For  it  is  an 
unalterable  law  that  '  evil  men  and  seducers  shall  wax  worse 
and  worse.' 

"And  when  such  means  come  to  be  regarded  as  'the 
great  power  of  God,'  the  grand  appliances  by  which  reli- 
gion receives  its  chief  impulse  and  advancement,  then  a  pro- 
portionate disparagement  of  the  divinely  instituted  means  of 
grace  ensues.  Having  become  insipid,  unprofitable  and 
powerless,  they  likewise  become  contemptible  in  the  eyes  of 
the  people.  That,  in  the  train  of  these  measures,  the  sabbath, 
sanctuary,  ministry,  and  family  religion,  sink  in  the  practi- 
cal judgment  and  affections  of  the  people,  is  not  so  much 
matter  of  speculation  as  of  history.  All  these  latter  means 
contemplate  a  gentle,  solid,  and  steady  growth,  a  progress 
■which,  if  slow,  is  sure.    Of  course  they  are  at  war  with  the 


NEW  MEASURES 


291 


whole  genius  of  new  measures.  What  opinion  would  he 
have  of  the  efficacy  of  family  worship,  or  of  a  plain  gospel- 
sermon  on  the  sabhath,  who  conceived  that  it  was  the  prov- 
ince, not  of  God.  but  of  some  famous,  story-telling,  paradox- 
ical preacher  to  give  the  increase?  We  believe  it  to  be  a 
well-established  fact,  that  family  religion  does  not  flourish  in 
churches,  which  depend  chiefly  on  these  unnatural  stimulants 
for  the  promotion  of  religion.  If  the  form  is  retained,  the 
power  of  it  vanishes.  And  what  more  fatal  shock  can  the  per- 
manent interests  of  religion  receive,  than  the  dissemination  of 
a  general  contempt  of  these  great  ordinances  of  God  for  its 
promotion?  Of  course  these  measures  sweep  away  the  pas- 
toral relation  in  their  dreadful  wake. 

"People  who  have  been  regaling  themselves  on  the  rare 
entertainments  afforded  by  this  sort  of  preachers,  with  its  va- 
ried condiment  of  vulgar  humour,  sarcasm,  anecdote,  illus- 
tration and  histrionism,  and  who  think  this  the  great  means 
of  promoting  religion,  will  not  long  endure  plain  gospel  ser- 
mons, or  those  who  preach  them  ;  1  for  the  time  shall  come 
when  they  will  not  endure  sound  doctrine,  but  will  after 
their  own  lusts  heap  to  themselves  teachers,  having  itching 
ears.'  Pastors  therefore  are  early  victims  to  this  course  of 
things.  All  this  has  for  a  long  time  been  matter  of  history. 
Through  whole  Presbyteries,"  (new  school)  "  and  tracts  of 
country  where  these  men  have  figured,  there  is  only  here  and 
there  a  settled  pastor,  and  what  few  there  are,  have  in  most 
cases  been  settled,  and  are  destined  to  continue  settled,  but 
a  few  months.  Now  if  there  is  any  sure  method  in  which 
the  curse  of  God  is  inflicted  upon  churches,  it  is  in  their 
privation  of  faithful  and  competent  pastors. 

"This  system  is  the  fruitful  mother  of  doctrinal  errors  and 
heresies  of  every  form  and  hue.  It  works  this  result  in  va- 
rious ways.    It  is  based  upon  and  pre-supposes  a  fundamental 


292 


NEW  MEASURES. 


error  respecting  that  power  by  which  the  heart  of  man  is 
conformed  and  made  obedient  to  the  truths  of  the  gospel. 
It  substitutes  human  expedients  which  operate  on  the  natu- 
ral susceptibilities,  for  God's  sovereign,  omnipotent,  trans- 
forming grace.  It  of  course  denies  or  explains  away  spe- 
cial grace,  and  all  affiliated  doctrines.  This,  as  we  have  al- 
ready seen,  strikes,  by  inevitable  consequence,  at  the  very 
vitals  of  religious  experience,  and  dwindles  it  down  to  a 
mere  resolution  put  forth  under  the  impulses  of  self-love. 
But  after  these  errors,  so  exhilarating  to  the  carnal  mind, 
lose  their  freshness,  they  lose  their  power  to  arouse  men  ; 
and  they  generally  prefer  to  postpone  attention  to  a  religion 
which  it  is  so  easy  to  obtain  at  any  moment,  till  they  have  a 
more  convenient  season  for  attending  to  it.  Then  the  new 
conception  of  the  'prayer  of  faith'  is  brought  in  to  surmount 
this  obstacle.  But  when  this  demonstrates  its  own  fallacy 
in  unquestionable  results,  improved  dietetics  or  Perfectionism 
is  brought  forward  as  the  last  desperate  remedy  for  a  desper- 
ate case.  It  is  learned  that  external  ordinances  are  an  incu- 
bus on  the  free  aspirations  of  the  spirit  within.  The  obli- 
gation of  the  moral  law  also  is  found  to  fetter  inward  lib- 
erty.* It  is  discovered  to  be  a  dreadful  bondage  to  be  under 
any  law  but  our  own  passions  and  lusts.  Thus  the  most 
unbridled  licentiousness  has  stalked  abroad,  with  great  swel- 
ling words  of  vanity,  saying  to  humble  piety,  stand  by  for 
I  am  holier  than  thou.  Meanwhile,  many  who  have  been 
pronounced  converts,  and  perhaps  made  foremost  in  promot- 
ing the  revival,  finding  that  their  conversion  is  all  a  delu- 

*The  New  Measures  appear  to  have  produced  the  same  anti-nomian- 
ism,  &c.  in  Mr.  Wesley's  times.  His  Journal  contains  many  examples 
of  this  among  his  converts;  over  which  he  bitterly  lamented,  but  of  the 
true  cause  of  which  he  appears  to  have  been  profoundly  ignorant. —  Wes- 
ley's Works,  vol.  Ill,  pp.  172-174.— p.  178.— pp.  181-183— pp.  186-190,  &c 


NEW  MEASURES. 


$93 


sion,  begin  to  consider  all  religious  experience  as  a  dream  of 
enthusiasm,  and  all  evangelical  religion  an  imposture.  In  a 
genuine  revival  of  religion,  we  have  seen  those  who  were 
fortified  against  it ;  because,  as  they  said,  '  they  had  been  all 
through  with  this  conversion  before,  and  it  was  all  a  farce.' 
Spectators  who  observe  these  scenes  and  their  results  often 
imbibe  the  same  sort  of  scepticism.  Many  of  the  more  sub- 
stantial sort  of  people, disgusted  with  such  a  course  of  things, 
flee  for  relief  to  some  of  those  sects,  where  an  orderly  form- 
alism takes  the  place  of  evangelical  piety.  Thus  infidelity, 
Universalism  and  formality  grow  apace.  The  result  is,  in 
many  cases,  incurable  divisions  and  feuds  in  churches  ;  in 
others,  their  utter  disruption  and  disorganization;  in  others, 
their  complete  apostacy  and  extinction,  or,  at  best  evanes- 
cence into  Perfectionism,  Unionism,  et  id  genus  orane. 

"Suppose  however,  that  these  more  fearful  rocks  and  quick- 
sands are  avoided.  Let  us  consider,  for  a  moment,  the  case 
of  such  as,  in  the  judgment  of  charity,  are  real  Christians 
in  churches  which  have  been  filled  with  members  by  these 
measures.  Although  their  tendency  may  have  been  so  far 
counteracted  as  to  prevent  fatal  delusion  in  many  cases,  yet 
it  does  not  follow  that  they  are  harmless  even  in  that  event. 
On  the  contrary,  they  do  exceedingly  mar,  distort  and  debil- 
itate the  piety  of  real  Christians.  They  serve  to  make  them 
weak  in  the  faith  ;  to  give  them  confused  views  of  that  truth 
by  which  they  are  sanctified  ;  to  impede  their  growth  in  grace 
and  knowledge  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ;  to 
impoverish  all  that  part  of  religious  experience  which  con- 
sists in  communion  with  God,  self-searching,  mortification  of 
lust,  the  inward  conflict  between  nature  and  grace,  love, 
joy,  peace,  long  suffering,  gentleness,  goodness,  faith, 
meekness,  temperance,  and  all  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit.  They 
greatly  impair  the  beautiful  proportion  and  symmetry  of  re- 


294 


NEW  MEASURES. 


ligious  character  ;  inspiring  a  disproportionate  zeal  for  some 
things,  and  a  comparative  neglect  of  others  equally  important. 
There  is  often,  for  example,  a  most  vehement  zeal  for  the 
conversion  of  sinners,  and  the  reformation  of  public  morals, 
while  there  is  little  zeal  against  sin  within  the  zealot  him- 
self, little  habitual  spirituality  and  heavenliness  of  mind. 
This  degenerate,  lean,  starveling  sort  of  religious  experience 
has  become  exceedingly  prevalent  of  late  years,  and  is  mat- 
ter of  universal  complaint.  There  are  immense  multitudes 
who  do  not  appear  so  much  no  Christians,  as  weak  Chris- 
tians; babes  in  knowledge  and  grace,  who  retain  all  the 
weakness  and  imbecility  of  helpless  infancy.  They  are  in- 
capable of  withstanding  the  seductions  of  error  and  tempta- 
tion. They  are  '  children  tossed  to  and  fro,  and  carried 
about  with  every  wind  of  doctrine,  by  the  sleight  of  men  and 
cunning  craftiness  whereby  they  lie  in  wait  to  deceive,' Eph. 
iv.  14.  They  have  not  their  '  senses  exercised  to  discern 
both  good  and  evil,'  and  '  when  for  the  time,  they  ought  to 
be  teachers,  they  have  need  that  one  teach  them  again,  which 
be  the  first  principles  of  the  oracles  of  God;  and  are  become 
such  as  have  need  of  milk,  and  not  of  strong  meat,'  Heb.  v. 
12 — 14.  And  what  else  could  be  expected?  Can  a  bad 
tree  bring  forth  good  fruits  ? 

"  In  short,  what  has  been  styled  New  Divinity  and  New 
Measures,  is  essentially  Arminianism:  it  produces  anArmin- 
ian  religion:  wherever  it  has  prevailed  in  Calvinistic  com- 
munions, it  has  reduced  them  to,  if  not  below,  the  level  of 
the  surrounding  Arminian  sects.  All  that  pre-eminence  for 
scriptural  knowledge,  spiritual  discernment,  stable,  sober  and 
principled  piety,  which  has  been  the  glory  of  Calvinistic 
churches  ;  which  has  made  them  pioneers  in  religious  enter- 
prise and  useful  reformations,  and  bulwarks  of  truth,  liberty, 
order,  purity,  intelligence  and  learning,  against  the  vandal 


NEW  MEASURES. 


295 


irruptions  of  rationalistic  and  prelatic  arrogance,  fanatic  and 
ignorant  zeal,  instantly  vanishes  when  this  leaven  prevails  ; 

and  THE   GLORY   IS  DEPARTED.**** 

"  A  few  words  as  to  the  manner  in  which  such  principles 
and  proceedings  are  commonly  vindicated  by  their  authors 
and  abettors. 

"Although  great  evil  confessedly  attends  them,  yet  it  is 
deemed  enough  to  silence  all  objections,  that  they  accom- 
plish great  good,  and  are  the  occasion  of  many  genuine  con- 
versions. But  this  plea  renounces  the  only  standard  by 
which  all  controversies  are  to  be  tried,  and  appeals  to  results. 
We  say  <  to  the  law  and  the  testimony.'  Moreover,  appeal- 
ing to  results,  they  are  non-suited,  as  the  foregoing  pages 
abundantly  show.  As  to  those  who  are  truly  converted  at 
such  times,  could  not  and  would  not  the  grace  of  God  bring 
them  into  his  kingdom,  in  the  due  use  of  his  appointed 
means,  and  in  a  manner  far  more  promotive  of  the  prosperity 
of  their  souls?  Are  not  great  numbers  fatally  deluded  and 
otherwise  injured,  and  are  not  all  the  interests  of  religion 
smitten  with  a  withering  blight  ?  Is  it  said  that  the  church 
can  be  purged  by  discipline  ?  Under  the  purest  administra- 
tion, and  the  utmost  vigilance,  some  false  professors  will 
find  their  way  into  the  church,  and  there  will  be  need  of  an 
occasional  excommunication.  But  is  it  not  unutterably  cruel 
to  beguile  men  into  the  church  by  a  system  of  devices,  which 
can  only  be  defended  on  the  ground  that  the  mischiefs  flow- 
ing from  them,  can  be  counteracted  by  inflicting  on  their 
victims  the  pains  of  ecclesiastical  decapitation  ?  And  is 
it  not  ruinous  to  their  souls  to  use  measures  expressly  de- 
signed to  produce  religious  excitement  in  them,  which  shall^ 
stop  short  of  true  conversion  ?  For  do  not  scripture  and 
experience  prove  that,  in  such  cases,  '  the  last  state  is  worse 
than  the  first?'    It  is  one  thing  to  be  visited  with  such  evils 


296 


NEW  MEASURES. 


occasionally  in  spite  of  the  best  efforts  to  avoid  them,  and 
quite  another  to  adopt  a  system  directly  adapted  to  engen- 
der them. 

"  They  are  in  the  habit  of  replying  to  all  objections  with 
great  assurance,  by  saying  that  in  this  age  the  world  moves 
by  steam,  and  unless  we  adopt  some  more  improved,  rapid 
method  of  converting  it,  it  will  run  away  from  us.  This 
idea  is  put  forth  in  every  variety  of  form,  ad  captandum,  to 
catch  the  unreflecting  crowd.  Our  readers,  we  fear,  will 
think  we  are  dealing  with  trifles,  in  giving  it  this  distinct 
and  formal  notice.  But  we  are  impelled  to  do  it,  in  view  of 
the  serious  use  which  is  made  of  this  fancy.  When  those 
who  profess  to  surpass  all  others  as  teachers  and  promoters 
of  religion,  offer  it  as  a  serious  answer  to  the  objections  of 
the  '  Old  School'  against  their  fierce  and  impetuous  move- 
ments, and  loose  doctrines,  that  '  if  any  choose  to  travel  in 
ox- carts  or  scows  they  can,  but  we  prefer  a  steamboat  or 
locomotive,'  when  things  of  this  nature  are  seriously  thrown 
out  in  '  revival'  sermons,  as  they  have  been  freely  by  those 
who  have  figured  most  prominently  in  these  things  of  late ; 
then  we  say,  it  ought  to  be  put  in  print ;  so  that  it  may  be- 
come the  object  of  calm  contemplation  ;  and  that  those  who 
presume  to  argue  thus  about  God's  truth,  and  the  order  of 
his  house,  may  retain  whatever  credit  they  can  as  teachers  of 
f  the  religion  of  the  Bible,'  which  is  the  same  'yesterday, 
to-day,  and  forever.' 

"  In  conclusion,  we  think  that  ample  cause  has  been 
shown  why  the  orthodox  Christians  of  this  land  look  with 
greater  or  less  distrust  upon  all  religious  excitements,  which 
are  produced  under  the  influence  either  of  the  doctrines  or 
measures  which  have  been  examined,  or  of  both  conjoined  ; 
and  still  more  why  they  cannot  look  upon  such  excitements 
as  evidential  of  the  truth  of  the  principles,  the  rectitude  of 


NEW  MEASURES. 


297 


the  measures,  of  the  men,  that  are  instrumental  in  their  pro- 
duction ;  and  why  they  cannot  confide  in  the  authors  and 
abettors  of  these  doctrines  and  devices,  no  matter  what 
wonders  they  may  work,  until  they  explicitely  repudiate 
them. 

"  And  we  think  that  in  these  things  the  course  of  duty  is 
the  course  of  safety  ;  that  the  more  entirely  all  ministers 
and  churches  avoid  all  participation  in,  all  sanction  or  coun- 
tenance of  these  extravagances,  the  more  will  they  be  in  the 
way  of  receiving  the  Divine  blessing,  and  becoming  ulti- 
mately sound  and  prosperous.  Mark  those  which  cause  di- 
visions and  offences  among  you,  and  avoid  them.  Have  no 
fellowship  with  the  unfruitful  works  of  darkness,  but  rather 
reprove  them,  is  the  course,  not  less  of  wise  policy,  than  of 
gospel  righteousness.  And  it  behooves  all  concerned  to  see 
to  it,  that  they  so  faithfully  and  prayerfully  use  the  means  of 
Divine  appointment  for  promoting  the  cause  of  religion,  that 
they  shall  give  no  occasion  to  those  who  seek  occasion,  and 
wish  a  plausible  pretext  for  thrusting  upon  them  the  contra- 
ry sort  of  proceedings,  and  thus  kindling  unhallowed 

FIRE  UPON  THE  ALTAR  OF  THE  LORD." 

As  this  subject  is  one  of  paramount  importance,  I  will 
subjoin  the  letters  of  the  venerable  Drs.  Alexander  and  Mil- 
ler of  Princeton,  appended,  among  others  from  various  dis- 
tinguished clergymen  of  different  denominations,  to  the  Lec- 
tures of  Dr.  Sprague  on  Revivals  of  Religion. — These  Lec- 
tures are  admirably  written — expository  of  the  nature  of  a 
genuine  revival  of  religion  and  of  the  scriptural  means  for 
their  promotion  ; — and  the  Letters,  added  in  the  form  of  an 
Appendix,  are  equally  interesting  and  instructive :  and  pro- 
ceeding from  no  less  than  twenty  ministers,  certainly  among 
the  most  talented,  learned,  pious  and  useful  in  their  respect- 
ive communions,  their  unanimous  and  decided  testimony  is 
38 


298 


NEW  MEASURES. 


entitled  to  great  consideration.  The  following  are  the  let- 
ters of  Drs.  Alexander  and  Miller  : — 

LETTER 

FROM  THE  REVEREND  ARCHIBALD  ALEXANDER,  D.  D. 
Professor  of  Theology  in  the  Theological  Seminary,  Princeton,  Nevr-Jersey. 

"  Princeton,  March  9,  1832. 
"  Reverend  and  dear  sir, 

"  In  compliance  with  your  request,  I  send  you  a  few 
thoughts  on  revivals.  I  am  gratified  to  learn  that  you  are 
about  to  publish  some  Lectures  on  this  interesting  subject. 
I  hope  they  will  be  extensively  useful ;  and  if  you  should 
judge  that  any  thing  which  I  may  write  would  subserve  a 
valuable  purpose,  you  are  at  liberty  to  make  use  of  this  let- 
ter as  you  may  think  best. 

"  A  revival  or  religious  excitement  may  exist  and  be  very 
powerful,  and  affect  many  minds,  when  the  producing  cause 
is  not  the  Spirit  of  God  ;  and  when  the  truth  of  God  is  not 
the  means  of  the  awakening.  This  we  must  believe,  unless 
we  adopt  the  opinion  that  the  Holy  Spirit  accompanies  error 
by  his  operations  as  well  as  truth,  which  would  be  blasphem- 
ous. Religious  excitements  have  been  common  among  Pa- 
gans, Mohammedans,  heretics  and  Papists.  And  in  our 
own  time  there  have  been  great  religious  excitements  among 
those  who  reject  the  fundamental  doctrines  of  the  Gospel ; 
as  for  example,  among  the  Christ-ians,  who  are  Unitarians, 
and  the  New-lights  or  Schismatics  of  the  west,  and  the 
Campbellites,  who  deny  the  proper  Divinity  of  our  Lord, 
and  the  scriptural  doctrine  of  atonement.  The  whole  reli- 
gion of  the  Shakers  also,  consists  in  enthusiastic  excite- 
ment. Hence  it  is  evident,  that  revivals  ought  to  be  distin- 
guished into  such  as  are  genuine  and  such  as  are  spurious. 


NEW  MEASURES. 


299 


And  the  distinction  should  depend  on  the  doctrines  inculca- 
ted, on  the  measures  adopted,  and  the  fruits  produced. 
*  Beloved,'  says  the  apostle  John,  1  believe  not  every  spirit, 
but  try  the  spirits,  whether  they  are  of  God.' 

"2.  Again,  a  revival  or  religious  excitement  may  take 
place  when  a  few  persons  only  are  under  the  saving  opera- 
tions of  the  Holy  Spirit :  but  when  many  are  affected  by 
sympathy,  and  by  the  application  of  extraordinary  means  of 
awakening  the  feelings.  1  have  seen  a  powerful  religious  im- 
pression pervade  a  large  congregation  at  once,  so  that  very  few 
remained  unaffected;  and  most  expressed  their  feelings  by  the 
strongest  signs  ;  and  yet,  as  it  afterwards  appeared,  very  few 
of  them  became  permanently  serious.  Besides,  when  the 
the  Spirit  operates  savingly  on  some,  there  is  reason  to  think 
that  his  common  operations  are  experienced  by  many. 
The  minds  of  the  people  generally  become  more  serious  and 
tender;  and  many  are  deeply  convinced  of  the  necessity  of 
religion,  and  engage  earnestly  in  prayer,  and  in  attendance 
on  other  means  of  grace.  Now  while  so  many  are  affected, 
but  few  may  be  truly  converted  ;  and  no  human  wisdom  is 
adequate  to  discern  between  those  who  are  savingly  wrought 
upon,  and  those  who  are  only  the  subjects  of  the  common  op- 
erations of  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  tree  which  is  covered  with 
blossoms  often  produces  little  fruit.  The  wind  which  agi- 
tates the  whole  forest,  may  tear  up  but  few  trees  by  the  roots. 
Thus  there  may  be  great  and  promising  appearances,  and  yet 
very  little  fruit.  Temporary  believers  may  use  the  same  lan- 
guage, and  exhibit  to  others  precisely  the  same  appearance 
as  true  converts.  This  consideration  should  be  sufficient  to 
prevent  the  practice  lately  introduced,  of  admitting  persons  to 
the  communion  of  the  church  at  the  very  meeting  at  which 
they  were  first  awakened.  There  may  be  cases  in  which 
well  instructed  persons  of  known  good  character,  may  be 


300 


NEW  MEASURES. 


received  to  the  Lord's  table,  as  soon  as  they  profess  a  hope 
of  acceptance  with  God,  but  these  should  be  considered  ex- 
ceptions to  the  general  rule.  Often  the  impressions  produ- 
ced at  a  public  meeting,  where  strong  excitements  are  ap- 
plied to  awaken  the  feelings,  are  as  evanescent  as  the  morn- 
ing cloud  or  early  dew.  And  many  of  those  who  become 
truly  pious,  entertain  for  a  while,  hopes,  which  they  after- 
wards are  convinced  to  be  unfounded  ;  and  to  pronounce 
such  persons  converted  at  once,  and  hurry  their  admission 
to  the  Lord's  table,  would  be  the  most  effectual  method  of 
preventing  their  saving  conversion.  There  may  be  an  error 
on  the  other  side,  of  too  long  a  delay,  and  of  discouraging  real 
believers  from  approaching  the  table  of  their  Lord;  but  the  er- 
ror is  on  the  safest  side.  As  to  apostolical  precedent,  it  is  just 
as  strong  for  a  community  of  goods  ;  and  after  all,  there  is  no 
undoubted  case  of  any  convert  being  immediately  received 
to  the  Lord's  supper.  They  were  baptized  instantly  on  their 
profession,  but  this  in  our  view  is  a  different  thing;  for  we 
admit  infants  to  baptism,  but  not  to  the  other  sacrament. 
And  the  fact  is,  that  in  every  part  of  the  world,  the  plan  of 
placing  young  converts  in  the  class  of  catechumens,  to  be 
instructed  even  prior  to  their  baptism,  was  adopted.  God 
often  leaves  his  servants  to  find  out  by  experience  what  is 
most  expedient,  and  does  not  teach  every  thing  by  inspira- 
tion ;  as  in  the  case  of  Moses  in  judging  the  people  of  Isra- 
el. And  if  experience  has  uttered  her  monitory  voice  clear- 
ly on  any  point,  I  think  she  has  in  regard  to  this;  and  I  have 
no  doubt  that  future  experience  willfully  corroborate  the  les- 
sons of  the  past. 

"  3.  A  real  work  of  the  Spirit  may  be  mingled  with  much 
enthusiasm  and  disorder  ;  but  its  beauty  will  be  marred,  and 
its  progress  retarded  by  every  such  spurious  mixture.  Thus 
also,  individuals  who  are  the  subjects  of  special  grace,  may 


NEW  MEASURES.  301 

for  a  while,  be  carried  away  with  erroneous  notions  and  ex- 
travagant feelings.  We  must  not,  therefore,  condemn  all 
as  deluded  souls,  who  manifest  some  signs  of  enthusiasm. 
But  under  the  same  revival  or  general  excitement,  while 
some  are  renewed  and  ingrafted  into  Christ,  others  may  be 
entirely  under  the  influence  of  error,  spiritual  pride,  and  de- 
lusion. When  the  Son  of  man  sows  good  seed  in  his  field, 
will  not  the  enemy  be  busy  in  sowing  tares?  And  doubtless 
it  often  happens,  that  by  the  rashness,  fanaticism,  and  extrav- 
agance of  a  few  persons,  especially  if  they  be  leaders,  an  ill 
report  may  be  brought  up  against  a  work,  in  which  the  Spi- 
rit of  God  has  been  powerfully  operating.  The  opinion  that 
it  is  dangerous  to  oppose  fanaticism,  lest  we  hinder  the  work 
of  God,  is  most  unfounded.  We  cannot  more  effectually  pro- 
mote genuine  revivals,  than  by  detecting  and  suppressing  fanat- 
icism ;  which  is  their  counterfeit,  and  injures  their  reputation 
among  intelligent  men  more  than  all  other  causes. 

"  4.  Often  also,  there  may  be  much  error  mingled  with 
the  evangelical  truth  which  is  preached  in  times  of  revival ; 
and  while  God  blesses  his  own  truth  to  the  conversion  of 
men,  the  baleful  effects  of  the  error  which  accompanies  it 
will  be  sure  to  be  manifest.  It  may  be  compared  to  the 
case, where  some  poisonous  ingredient  is  mingled  with  whole- 
some food.  I  might  here,  perhaps,  refer  to  some  sections 
of  our  own  church,  where  the  truth  is  not  clearly  inculcated; 
and  it  might  be  shown  that  there  is  danger  of  error  on  both 
extremes.  But  I  choose  rather  to  refer  to  those  churches, 
which  we  all  think  to  be  erroneous  in  certain  points.  No  de- 
nomination among  us  has  had  more  frequent  and  extensive  re- 
vivals than  the  Methodists,  and  we  have  no  doubt  that  mul- 
titudes have  been  truly  converted  under  their  ministry  ;  but 
the  effect  of  their  errors  is  manifest  to  an  impartial  observer. 
The  same  remark  holds  good  respecting  the  Cumberland 


802  NEW  MEASURES. 

Presbyterians,  who  greatly  resemble  the  Methodists  in  their 
doctrines,  and  modes  of  promoting  and  conducting  revivals. 
And  as  an  example  from  the  opposite  extreme,  I  would  men- 
tion that  portion  of  the  Baptist  church,  which  is  tinctured 
with  Antinomianism.  They  have  revivals  also,  but  their 
mode  of  treating  the  subjects  is  widely  different  from  that  of 
the  sects  last  mentioned. 

"  5.  But  I  come  now  to  speak  of  genuine  revivals,  where 
the  gospel  is  preached  in  its  purity,  and  where  the  people 
have  been  well  instructed  in  the  doctrines  of  Christianity. 
In  a  revival,  it  makes  the  greatest  difference  in  the  world 
whether  the  people  have  been  carefully  taught  by  catechis- 
ing, and  where  they  are  ignorant  of  the  truths  of  the  Bible. 
In  some  cases  revivals  are  so  remarkably  pure,  that  nothing 
occurs  with  which  any  pious  man  can  find  fault.  There  is 
not  only  no  wildness  and  extravagance,  but  very  little  strong 
commotion  of  the  animal  feelings.  The  word  of  God  dis- 
tils upon  the  mind  like  the  gentle  rain,  and  the  Holy  Spirit 
comes  down  like  the  dew,  diffusing  a  blessed  influence  on 
all  around.  Such  a  revival  affords  the  most  beautiful  sight 
ever  seen  upon  earth.  Its  aspect  gives  us  a  lively  idea  of 
what  will  be  the  general  state  of  things  in  the  latter  day 
glory,  and  some  faint  image  of  the  heavenly  state.  The 
impressions  on  the  minds  of  the  people  in  such  a  work  are 
the  exact  counterpart  of  the  truth  ;  just  as  the  impression 
on  the  wax  corresponds  to  the  seal.  In  such  revivals  there 
is  great  solemnity  and  silence.  The  convictions  of  sin  are 
deep  and  humbling:  the  justice  of  God  in  the  condemna- 
tion of  the  sinner  is  felt  and  acknowledged  ;  every  other  re- 
fuge but  Christ  is  abandoned  ;  the  heart  at  first  is  made  to 
feel  its  own  impenetrable  hardness  ;  but  when  least  expect- 
ed, it  dissolves  under  a  grateful  sense  of  God's  goodness, 
and  Christ's  love  ;  light  breaks  in  upon  the  soul  either  by 


NEW  MEASURES. 


303 


a  gradual  dawning,  or  by  a  sudden  flash  ;  Christ  is  reveal- 
ed through  the  gospel,  and  a  firm  and  often  a  joyful  confidence 
of  salvation  through  Hira  is  produced  :  a  benevolent,  forgiv- 
ing, meek,  humble  and  contrite  spirit  predominates — the 
love  of  God  is  shed  abroad — and  with  some,  joy  unspeak- 
able and  full  of  glory,  fills  the  soul.  A  spirit  of  devotion 
is  enkindled.  The  word  of  God  becomes  exceedingly  pre- 
cious. Prayer  is  the  exercise  in  which  the  soul  seems  to  be  in 
its  proper  element,  because  by  it,  God  is  approached,  and  his 
presence  felt,  and  beauty  seen  :  and  the  new-born  soul  lives 
by  breathing  after  the  knowledge  of  God,  after  communion 
with  God,  and  after  conformity  to  his  will.  Now  also 
springs  up  in  the  soul  an  inextinguishable  desire  to  promote 
the  glory  of  God,  and  to  bring  all  men  to  the  knowledge  of 
the  truth,  and  by  that  means  to  the  possession  of  eternal 
life.  The  sincere  language  of  the  heart  is,  '  Lord  what 
wouldst  thou  have  me  to  do?'  That  God  may  send  upon 
his  church  many  such  revivals,  is  my  daily  prayer;  and  ma- 
ny such  have  been  experienced  in  our  country,  and  I  trust 
are  still  going  forward  in  our  churches. 

"6.  But  it  has  often  occurred  to  me — and  I  have  heard 
the  same  sentiment  from  some  of  the  most  judicious  and 
pious  men  that  I  have  known — that  there  must  be  a 
state  of  the  church  preferable  to  these  temporary  excitements, 
which  are  too  often  followed  by  a  deplorable  state  of  de- 
clension, and  disgraceful  apathy  and  inactivity.  Why  not 
aim  at  having  a  continuous  lively  state  of  piety  ;  and  an  un- 
ceasing progress  in  the  conversion  of  the  impenitent,  with- 
out these  dreadful  seasons  of  deadness  and  indifference? 
Why  may  we  not  hope  for  such  a  state  of  increasing  pros- 
perity in  the  church,  that  revivals  shall  be  no  longer  needed  : 
or  if  you  prefer  the  expression,  when  there  shall  be  a  per- 
petual revival1?    Richard  Baxter's  congregation  seems  for 


304 


NEW  MEASURES. 


many  years  to  have  approximated  to  what  is  here  supposed  ; 
and  perhaps  that  of  John  Brown  of  Haddington,  and  Dr. 
Romaine  of  London.  And  in  this  country,  I  have  known 
a  very  few  congregations  in  which  a  lively  state  of  piety  was 
kept  up  from  year  to  year. 

"  7.  We  cannot,  however,  limit  the  Holy  One,  nor  pre- 
scribe modes  of  operation  for  the  Spirit  of  God.  His  dis- 
pensations are  inscrutable,  and  it  is  our  duty  to  submit  to 
his  wisdom  and  his  will ;  and  to  go  on  steadily  in  the  per- 
formance of  our  own  duty.  If  He,  the  Sovereign,  chooses 
to  water  his  church  by  occasional  showers,  rather  than  with 
the  perpetual  dew  of  his  grace  ;  and  this  more  at  one  peri- 
od, and  in  one  continent,  than  at  other  times  and  places,  we 
should  rejoice  and  be  grateful  for  the  rich  effusions  of  his 
Spirit  in  any  form  and  manner ;  and  should  endeavour  to 
avail  ourselves  of  these  precious  seasons,  for  the  conversion 
of  sinners,  and  the  edification  of  the  body  of  Christ.  In 
the  natural  world  the  cold  and  barren  winter  regularly  suc- 
ceeds the  genial  and  growing  seasons  of  spring  and  summer ; 
and  there  may  be  an  analogy  to  this  vicissitude  in  the  spirit- 
ual world.  One  thing  we  are  taught,  that  believers  stand  in 
need  of  seasons  of  severe  trial,  that  they  may  be  purified, 
as  the  precious  metals  are  purged  from  their  dross  in  the 
heated  furnace.  Paul  says,  '  For  there  must  be  heresies 
among  you,  that  they  which  are  approved  may  be  made 
manifest.' 

"8.  As  genuine  revivals  are  favourable  to  truth  and  or- 
thodoxy, so  spurious  excitements  furnish  one  of  the  most 
effectual  vehicles  for  error  and  heresy.  The  church  is  not 
always  benefitted  by  what  are  termed  revivals  ;  but  some- 
times the  effects  of  such  commotions  are  followed  by  a  des- 
olation which  resembles  the  track  of  the  tornado.  I  have  nev- 
er seen  so  great  insensibility  in  any  people  as  in  those  who  had 


NEW  MEASURES. 


305 


been  the  subjects  of  violent  religious  excitement  ;  and  I 
have  never  seen  any  sinners  so  bold  and  reckless  in  their  im- 
piety as  those  who  had  once  been  loud  professors,  and  fore- 
most in  the  time  of  revival.  If  I  had  time,  I  might  illus- 
trate this  remark  by  a  reference  to  the  great  revival  of  the 
west,  which  commenced  about  the  close  of  the  year  1800  in 
the  south  part  of  Kentucky;  and  by  which  the  Presbyterian 
church  in  that  region  was  for  so  many  years  broken,  distract- 
ed, and  prostrated — but  I  must  forbear.  When  people  are 
much  excited,  their  caution  and  sober  judgment  are  dimin- 
ished ;  and  when  preachers  are  ardently  zealous  in  revivals, 
serious  people  do  not  suspect  them  of  holding  errors,  or  of 
entertaining  the  design  of  subverting  the  truth.  It  is  also  a 
fact  that  the  teachers  of  false  doctrine,  do  sometimes  artful- 
ly associate  their  errors  with  revivals,  and  by  continually  in- 
sinuating or  openly  declaring,  that  revivals  only  take  place 
in  connection  with  their  new  theology,  they  succeed  in  per- 
suading those  who  have  more  zeal  than  knowledge,  that  all 
who  oppose  their  errors,  are  the  enemies  of  revivals.  This 
artifice  has  often  been  played  off  with  much  effect ;  and  they 
have  sometimes  gone  so  far  as  to  deny  the  genuineness  of 
great  revivals  which  occurred  under  the  ministry  of  those 
holding  opinions  different  from  their  own  ;  or  who  neglected 
to  bring  into  operation  all  the  newly  invented  apparatus  of 
revivals. 

"  You  may,  perhaps,  expect  me  to  say  something  respect- 
ing what  are  called  new  measures  ;  but  as  I  am  out  of  the 
way  of  witnessing  the  actual  operation  of  these  means,  I 
will  not  venture  on  a  discussion  which  is  both  delicate 
and  difficult,  farther  than  to  mention  some  general  results, 
which  from  a  retrospect  of  many  facts,  I  have  adopted,  in 
regard  to  revivals  of  religion.  On  each  of  these  I  might 
largely  expatiate,  but  my  prescribed  limits  forbid  it, 
39 


306 


NEW  MEASURES. 


"  All  means  and  measures  which  produce  a  high  degree 
of  excitement,  or  a  great  commotion  of  the  passions,  should 
be  avoided  ;  because  religion  does  not  consist  in  these  violent 
emotions,  nor  is  it  promoted  by  them  ;  and  when  they  sub- 
side, a  wretched  state  of  deadness  is  sure  to  succeed. 

"  The  subjects  of  religious  impressions  ought  not  to  be 
brought  much  into  public  notice.  It  ought  not  to  be  for- 
gotten, that  the  heart  is  deceitful  above  all  things,  and 
that  strong  excitement  does  not  prevent  the  risings  of  pride 
and  vain  glory.  Many  become  hypocrites  when  they  find 
themselves  the  objects  of  much  attention,  and  affect  feelings 
which  are  not  real  ;  and  where  there  is  humility  and  sinceri- 
ty, such  measures  turn  away  the  attention  from  the  distinct 
contemplation  of  those  subjects  which  ought  to  occupy  the 
mind. 

"  On  this  account,  I  prefer  having  the  anxious  addressed 
and  instructed  as  they  sit  undistinguished  in  their  seats, 
rather  than  calling  them  out  to  particular  pews,  denominated 
anxious  seats :  and  if  the  pastor  can  visit  the  awakened  at 
their  houses,  it  would  be  better  than  to  appoint  meetings  ex- 
pressly for  them.  But  as  this  cannot  be  done,  when  the 
number  is  great,  these  meetings  may  be  necessary  ;  but  in- 
stead of  attempting  to  converse  with  each  individual,  let  the 
preacher  address  suitable  instruction  and  advice  to  all  at  once; 
and  if  any  are  in  any  great  trouble  and  difficulty,  let  them 
come  to  the  minister's  house,  or  send  for  him  to  visit  them. 

"  All  measures  which  have  a  tendency  to  diminish  the  so- 
lemnity of  divine  worship,  or  to  lessen  our  reverence  for 
God  and  divine  things,  are  evidently  wrong ;  and  this  is  uni- 
formly the  effect  of  excessive  excitement.  Fanaticism  often 
blazes  with  a  glaring  flame,  and  agitates  assemblies  as  with 
a  hurricane  or  earthquake ;  but  God  is  not  in  the  fire,  or  the 
wind,  or  the  earthquake.    His  presence  is  more  commonly 


NEW  MEASURES. 


307 


with  the  still  small  voice.  There  is  no  sounder  characteris- 
tic of  genuine  devotion,  than  reverence.  When  this  is  ban- 
ished, the  fire  may  burn  fiercely,  but  it  is  unhallowed  fire. 
Fanaticism,  however  much  it  may  assume  the  garb  and  lan- 
guage of  piety,  is  its  opposite  :  for  while  the  latter  is  mild, 
and  sweet,  and  disinterested,  and  respectful,  and  affection- 
ate, the  former  is  proud,  arrogant,  censorious,  selfish,  carnal, 
and  when  opposed,  malignant. 

"  The  premature  and  injudicious  publication  of  revivals, 
is  now  a  great  evil.  There  is  in  these  accounts  often  a  cant 
which  greatly  disgusts  sensible  men  ;  and  there  is  an  exag- 
geration which  confounds  those  who  know  the  facts;  and  it 
cannot  but  injure  the  people  concerning  whom  the  narrative 
treats.    But  I  must  desist. 

"  I  am  respectfully  and  affectionately 
"Yours, 

"A.  ALEXANDER. 

"  Rev.  W.  B.  Sprague,  D.  D." 

LETTER 

FROM  THE  REVEREND  SAMUEL  MILLER,  D.  D. 

Professor  of  Ecclesiastical  History  and  Church  Government  in  the  Theological  Seminary  u 
Princeton,  New-Jersey. 

"  Reverend  and  dear  brother, 

"  The  pious  and  devoted  Mr.  Baxter  somewhere  remarks, 
— '  The  Word  of  God  is  divine  ;  but  our  mode  of  dispens- 
ing it  is  human  :  and  there  is  scarcely  any  thing  we  have 
the  handling  of,  but  we  leave  on  it  the  prints  of  our  fingers.' 
The  justness  of  this  remark  we  shall  probably  all  acknow- 
ledge. And  although  the  contemplation  of  the  fact  which 
it  expresses,  ought  by  no  means  either  to  discourage  the 
Christian,  or  lead  him  to  depreciate  the  real  importance  of 
human  instrumentality  in  extending  and  building  up  the 


308 


NEW  MEASURES. 


church  ;  it  ought  to  lead  us  all  to  '  cease  from  man'  as  an  ul- 
timate guide  in  divine  things  ;  to  '  search  the  Scriptures 
daily  to  walk  with  a  scrupulous  care  in  their  light ;  and  to 
pray  fervently  and  unceasingly  that  both  those  who  admin- 
ister and  those  who  receive  the  ordinances  of  God,  may 
constantly  go  '  to  the  law  and  to  the  testimony'  for  guidance 
in  every  thing. 

"  As  the  remark  in  question  applies  to  every  department 
of  sacred  things,  in  which  men  act ;  so  it  may  be  consider- 
ed, perhaps,  as  applying  particularly  to  Revivals  or  Relig- 
ion. In  those  precious  seasons,  so  dear  to  every  pious 
heart,  and  so  much  to  be  desired  by  every  one  who  loves 
the  prosperity  of  Zion  ; — when  the  graces  of  Christians  are 
revived;  when  many  who  have  been  slumbering  in  sin  are 
awakened  for  the  first  time  to  a  sight  of  their  guilt  and  dan- 
ger ;  when  the  awful  realities  of  eternity  begin  to  be  reveal- 
ed to  the  minds  of  multitudes  who  never  saw  them  as  reali- 
ties before ;  when  human  sympathies  and  passions  as  well 
as  gracious  feelings,  are  called  into  exercise,  and  sometimes 
into  very  powerful  and  morbid  exercise ;  and  when  those 
who  are  yet  <  babes  in  Christ,'  and  who,  of  course,  have  no 
experience,  are  ready  to  listen  to  every  suggestion  which 
may  indicate  some  new  method  of  '  winning  souls,'  and  of 
extending  the  Redeemer's  kingdom  ; — can  it  be  wondered, 
that,  in  such  a  season  of  deep  interest,  and  powerful  excite- 
ment— feeling  should  often  predominate  over  judgment ;  and 
enthusiasm,  fanaticism,  and  various  forms  of  spurious  emo- 
tion, mingle  with  genuine  exercises  ;  and,  in  the  view  of  su- 
perficial observers,  throw  a  suspicious  appearance  over  the 
whole  work  ?  In  many  instances,  there  can  be  no  doubt,  that 
genuine  effusions  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  by  means  of  which  large 
additions  have  been  made  to  the  Church  of  Christ,  have,  in 
their  progress,  been  tarnished  by  human  management,  and 


NEW  MEASURES. 


309 


unhallowed  mixtures  ;  and,  in  not  a  few  cases,  arrested  by 
transactions  and  appearances,  which  pained  the  hearts  of 
intelligent  Christians ;  disgusted  and  alienated  serious  in- 
quirers ;  grieved  away  the  Spirit  of  God  ;  left  the  state  of 
the  population  thus  graciously  visited,  perhaps  less  favour- 
able than  it  was  found  ;  and  greatly  strengthened  the  hands 
of  the  enemies  of  the  revival  cause. 

"  This  is  so  far  from  being  a  rare  occurrence,  that  it  is 
presumed  an  extensive  and  strongly  marked  revival  of  relig- 
ion has  seldom  occurred,  in  any  age  or  country,  and  even 
under  the  ministry  of  the  most  prudent  and  pious  pastor,  in 
the  course  of  which  some  things  did  not  take  place  adapted 
to  grieve  the  enlightened  friends  of  the  cause  of  Christ. 
Public  services,  perhaps  have  been,  with  the  best  intention, 
so  inordinately  multiplied  as,  in  a  measure,  to  defeat  their 
own  object.  Means  have  been  resorted  to,  in  the  fulness  of 
ardent  feeling,  which  scriptural  wisdom  and  experience 
could  not  justify.  Irregularities  and  excesses  have  insensi- 
bly crept  in,  which,  though  meant  for  the  best,  and  promis- 
ing, at  the  time,  to  be  useful,  proved  far  otherwise  in  their  in- 
fluence. Expression  has  been  given,  in  public  and  private, 
to  feelings,  which,  though  sincere  and  unaffected  in  those  in 
whom  they  were  first  witnessed,  were  by  no  means  of  a  sim- 
ilar character  in  all  subsequent  imitators.  A  few,  perhaps, 
who  were  deeply  impressed  with  the  importance  of  religion, 
and  with  the  danger  of  the  impenitently  wicked,  began, 
without  permission,  to  give  vent  to  their  honest  zeal  in  warm 
and  public  addresses.  Those  whose  zeal  and  knowledge 
were  less,  and  whose  vanity  was  greater,  soon  imitated  their 
example  ;  until  lay-preaching  became  prevalent,  and  extrav- 
agance and  folly  were  the  most  prominent  features  in  the 
scene.  Meetings  for  prayer  were  protracted  to  an  unseason- 
able hour.    Judicious  and  sober-minded  Christians  were 


310 


NEW  MEASURES, 


grieved  to  see  plans  adopted,  and  practices  indulged,  which, 
though  intended  for  good,  were  by  no  means  adapted  to 
promote  it.  Many  who  saw  and  lamented  these  evils  were 
backward  to  oppose  them,  lest  they  should  be  thought  un- 
friendly to  what  was  really  excellent  and  commendable  in 
the  passing  scene.  Thus  revivals  have  lost  some  of  their 
lustre  with  all ;  have  been  altogether  discredited  in  the  eyes 
of  many  ;  and  have,  perhaps,  been  succeeded  by  long  sea- 
sons of  prevailing  carelessness,  and  even  of  hardened  oppo- 
sition to  the  special  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

"  But  not  only  are  the  seeds  of  human  infirmity  and  cor- 
ruption to  which  I  have  referred,  quite  sufficient  to  produce, 
and  to  explain  the  evils  which  have  been  mentioned  : — not 
only  are  the  honest  mistakes,  and  the  remaining  imperfec- 
tions of  the  best  men  apt  to  betray  them,  in  seasons  of  ex- 
citement, into  language  and  plans  which  will  not  stand  the 
test  of  enlightened  reflection ;  but  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  the  great  adversary  of  souls  makes  it  his  constant  study, 
by  working  on  the  minds  of  hypocrites  and  fanatics,  and  by 
leading  good  men,  as  far  as  possible,  into  his  snares,  to 
counteract  and  to  discredit  revivals  of  religion.  '  If  we 
look  back' — says  the  eminently  wise  and  experienced  Presi- 
dent Edwards — c  If  we  look  back  into  the  history  of  the 
Church  of  God  in  past  ages,  we  may  observe  that  it  has 
been  a  common  device  of  the  Devil,  to  overset  a  revival  of 
religion,  when  he  finds  he  can  keep  men  quiet  and  secure  no 
longer,  then  to  drive  them  into  excesses  and  extravagances. 
He  holds  them  back  as  long  as  he  can  ;  but  when  he  can  do 
it  no  longer,  then  he  will  push  them  on,  and,  if  possible,  run 
them  upon  their  heads.  And  it  has  been  by  this  means 
chiefly,  that  he  has  been  successful,  in  several  instances,  to 
overthrow  most  hopeful  and  promising  beginnings:  yea,  the 
principal  means  by  which  the  Devil  was  successful,  by  de- 


NEW  MEASURES. 


311 


grees,  to  overset  that  grand  religious  revival  of  the  world, 
that  was  in  the  primitive  ages  of  Christianity  ;  and,  in  a 
manner  to  overthrow  the  Christian  Church  through  the  earth, 
and  to  make  way  for,  and  bring  on  the  grand  anti-Christian 
apostacy,  that  master-piece  of  all  the  Devil's  work,  was  to 
improve  the  indiscreet  zeal  of  Christians  ;  to  drive  them  into 
those  three  extremes  of  enthusiasm,  superstition,  and  severity 
towards  opposers,  which  should  be  enough  for  an  everlasting 
warning  to  the  Christian  Church.  And  though  the  Devil 
will  do  his  diligence  to  stir  up  the  open  enemies  of  religion; 
yet  he  knows  what  is  for  his  interest  so  well,  that  in  a  time 
of  revival  of  religion,  his  main  strength  shall  be  tried  with 
the  friends  of  it,  and  he  will  chiefly  exert  himself  in  his  at- 
tempts upon  them  to  mislead  them.  One  truly  zealous  per- 
son, in  the  time  of  such  an  event,  that  seems  to  have  a  great 
hand  in  the  affair,  and  draws  the  eyes  of  many  upon  him, 
may  do  more  (through  Satan's  being  too  subtle  for  him)  to 
hinder  the  work,  than  a  hundred  great,  and  strong,  and 
open  opposers.'* 

"  One  would  think,  at  first  view,  that  a  single  series  of 
mischievous  disorders,  strongly  marked  ;  exhibited  in  a  day 
of  great  public  interest ;  and  distinctly  recorded,  would  be 
sufficient  to  instruct  and  warn  the  Church  in  all  succeeding 
times.  But,  unhappily,  this  is  by  no  means  found  to  be  the 
case.  Human  nature  being  the  same  in  all  ages,  the  tenden- 
cies, infirmities  and  temptations  of  men  are  the  same.  One 
generation  forgets  the  experience  of  that  which  preceded  it. 
Few  read  the  record  of  that  experience,  and  fewer  still  are 
qualified  to  profit  by  it.  The  consequence  is,  that  every  few 
years,  the  same  occurrences  take  place.    Good  men  are  en- 

*Some  Thoughts  concerning  the  present  Revival  of  Religion,  &c,  Part 
IV.,  p.  190. 


312 


NEW  MEASURES. 


snared  and  led  astray  in  the  same  manner.  Hypocrites  man- 
ifest the  same  arts  and  unhallowed  ebullitions.  Similar  mis- 
takes are  made,  and  similar  irregularities  are  indulged,  with- 
out recollecting,  or,  perhaps,  knowing,  that  they  were  ever 
witnessed  before,  and,  of  course,  without  being  admonished 
by  the  painful  instructions  of  former  times.  Thus  it  is  that 
children  profit  so  little  by  the  experience  of  their  fathers.  It 
were  well,  indeed,  if  the  fathers  themselves  always  profited 
as  they  ought  by  their  own. 

"  The  truth  of  these  remarks  has  been  exemplified,  in  a 
greater  or  less  degree,  in  almost  every  age  of  the  Church, 
from  the  day  of  Pentecost,  until  the  present  hour.  ###* 

"  While  I  speak  thus  candidly  on  the  subject  of  Camp- 
meetings,  allow  me  to  volunteer  a  word  in  relation  to  what 
are  commonly  styled  Anxious  Seats.  They  are  connected, 
and  not  very  remotely,  with  the  subject  I  have  undertaken  to 
discuss.  Far  be  it  from  me  to  undertake  to  pronounce  on 
those  brethren  who  have  thought  it  their  duty  to  countenance 
them,  a  sentence  of  condemnation  ;  or  to  question  that  good 
has  sometimes  been  done  where  they  have  been  used.  But 
this,  I  must  insist,  is  not,  in  all  cases,  a  safe  criterion  of 
duty.  Men  may  be  savingly  benefitted  by  the  instrumental- 
ity of  means  which  all  would  unite  in  condemning.  The 
decisive  question  is,  can  this  method  of  proceeding  be  con- 
sidered as  the  best  mode,  nay  as  a  really  eligible  mode,  of 
drawing  to  a  point,  and  ascertaining  the  exercises  of  seri- 
ous inquirers  ?  Is  it  the  best  way  of  deciding  on  the  digest- 
ed feelings,  the  deliberate  purpose  of  persons,  whose  atten- 
tion has  been  aroused,  it  may  be  for  the  first  time,  and  per- 
haps only  a  few  minutes  before,  to  the  great  subject  of  relig- 
ion? If,  indeed,  I  were  called  upon  to  address  one  or  more 
individuals  on  a  journey,  as  Philip  was,  in  the  case  of  the 
Ethiopian  Eunuch  ; — individuals  whom  I  never  expected 


NEW  MEASURES. 


313 


to  see  again,  after  the  passing  hour; — I  might,  without  im- 
propriety, call  them  to  declare  their  decision  within  that  hour, 
and  baptise  them,  as  Philip  did.  Or,  if  I  had  occasion  to 
speak  to  a  mixed  multitude,  the  greater  part  of  whom  could 
only  remain  a  few  days  in  the  place  where  the  Gospel  was 
preached  to  them, — as  was  the  situation  of  many  in  the  city 
of  Jerusalem,  on  the  day  of  Pentecost; — it  would  strike  me 
as  proper  to  call  them,  not  merely  to  an  immediate  decision — 
between  the  claims  of  God  and  the  world,  which  indeed 

OUGHT  ALWAYS  TO   BE   DONE    BY  EVERY    MINISTER  ;  but 

also  to  an  immediate  manifestation  of  that  decision, 
that  they  might  be  conversed  and  prayed  with  accordingly, 
in  the  few  hours  of  opportunity  which  they  were  permitted 
to  enjoy.  But  it  would  by  no  means  occur  to  me  as  the 
most  judicious  way,  in  ordinary  cases,  of  drawing  the  line 
between  the  careless,  and  the  truly  anxious  inquirer,  to  re- 
quest all  who  were  disposed  to  think  seriously,  to  rise  and 
present  themselves  before  a  public  assembly,  in  the  charac- 
ter of  persons  who  had  resolved,  or  were  desirous,  to  devote 
themselves  to  the  service  of  Christ, — and  this,  perhaps,  at 
the  close  of  the  very  sermon  by  means  of  which  it  was  hop- 
ed they  had,  for  the  first  time,  begun  to  feel  and  inquire 
about  salvation  ;  and,  of  course,  in  a  few  minutes  after  they 
thus  began  to  feel.  If  I  were  to  make  such  a  request,  I 
should  expect  to  find  the  persons  rising  and  presenting  them- 
selves in  compliance  with  it,  to  be,  for  the  most  part,  the 
forward,  the  sanguine,  the  rash,  the  self-confident,  and  the 
self-righteous';  and  that  many,  who  felt  more  deeply,  and 
yet  hesitated  about  announcing  themselves  so  suddenly  as 
anxious  inquirers,  and,  of  course,  kept  their  seats,  would 
prove  to  be  the  modest,  the  humble,  the  broken-hearted,  who 
had  a  deep  impression  of  the  deceitfulness  of  the  heart,  and 
who  considered  the  importance  of  pondering  well  the  solem- 
40 


314 


NEW  MEASURES. 


nity  of  every  step  on  a  subject  of  such  unutterable  mo- 
ment. 

"  I  am  aware  that  the  advocates  of  the  system  of  '  anx- 
ious seats,'  urge,  with  some  plausibility,  that,  in  considera- 
tion of  the  natural  tendency  of  the  impenitent  to  stifle  con- 
victions, and  to  tamper  with  the  spirit  of  procrastination,  it 
is  desirable  that  they  should  be  prevailed  upon,  as  soon  as 
possible,  to  '  commit  themselves'  on  this  great  subject. 
That  a  decisive  step  in  relation  to  this  subject  is  desirable, 
and  that  it  ought  to  be  taken  without  delay,  is  certain.  But, 
at  the  same  time,  that  it  ought  to  be  taken  without  rashness, 
with  knowledge,  with  due  consideration,  and  with  sacred 
care  not  to  mistake  a  transient  emotion,  for  a  deep  impres- 
sion, or  a  settled  purpose,  is  equally  certain.  Suppose,  after 
a  solemn  and  pointed  sermon,  an  invitation  to  be  given  to  all 
present  who  felt  the  importance  of  an  immediate  attention  to 
'  the  things  which  belong  to  their  peace,'  to  come  forward 
and  take  the  seats  provided  for  them  near  the  pulpit.  Sup- 
pose two  hundred  individuals  to  avail  themselves  of  this 
invitation,  and  to  present  themselves  before  the  church  as 
objects  of  attention  and  prayer.  .And  suppose,  at  the  end 
of  three  months,  fifty  of  these  to  unite  themselves  with  the 
professing  people  of  God,  on  the  ground  of  '  a  good  hope 
through  grace  ;'— fifty  more  to  take  the  same  step,  not  be- 
cause they  were  satisfied  of  their  Christian  character ;  but 
because  they  had  c  committed  themselves,'  and  did  not  wish 
to  appear  fickle,  or  apostates: — and  the  remaining  hundred 
to  return,  with  greater  obduracy  than  before,  to  their  former 
careless  and  sinful  course.  I  say,  suppose  such  steps,  and 
such  a  result  as  I  have  stated  to  occur ; — would  it  be  deem- 
ed, by  judicious  Christians,  a  result,  on  the  whole,  more 
favorable  for  the  best  interests  of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom, 
than  if,  in  pursuance  of  what  are  called  the  1  old  measures,' 
in  such  cases,  none  but  the  fifty  genuine  converts  had  erer 


NEW  MEASURKS. 


315 


been  brought  forward  to  public  view  at  all,  and  not  even  these 
until  they  had  enjoyed  an  opportunity  to  bring  their  exer- 
cises to  the  test  of  time  ;  to  gain  and  digest  the  elements  of 
Christian  knowledge,  and  to  '  count  the  cost'  of  their  under- 
taking?— The  Church  indeed,  in  the  latter  case,  might  not 
grow  in  numbers  quite  so  rapidly  ;  and  her  movements  might 
not  be  quite  so  audible  and  imposing: — but,  methinks,  her 
growth  would  be  more  likely  to  prove  healthful.  She  would 
be  less  burdened  with  spurious  members.  She  would  be 
more  likely  to  escape  the  multiplied  evils  naturally  arising 
from  the  fact  of  a  large  portion  of  her  members  being  hur- 
ried forward  in  such  a  school  of  agitation,  immature  training, 
and  noisy  excitement';  and  much  less  in  danger  of  placing 
both  the  fifty  who  insincerely  took  upon  themselves  the  vows 
of  Christ,  and  the  hundred  who  1  drew  back,'  in  a  state  far 
more  perilous  than  ever,  with  regard  to  their  final  salvation. 

"  Let  it  not  be  said,  that  inviting  *  to  anxious  seats'  is  the 
only  effectual  method  of  ascertaining  who  are  under  serious 
impressions,  and  who  are  not.  Why  is  it  not  quite  as  effec- 
tual to  give  a  public  invitation  to  all  who  are  in  any  degree 
seriously  impressed,  or  anxious,  to  remain  after  the  congre- 
gation is  dismissed,  or  to  meet  their  pastor  the  next  evening, 
in  some  convenient  apartment,  for  the  purpose  of  disclosing 
their  feelings,  and  of  being  made  the  subjects  of  instruction 
and  prayer.  Nay,  why  is  not  the  latter  method  very  much 
preferable  to  the  former  ?  It  surely  gives  quite  as  good  an 
opportunity  to  ascertain  numbers,  and  to  distinguish  persons 
and  cases.  It  affords  a  far  better  opportunity  to  give  distinct 
and  appropriate  instruction  to  particular  individuals.  It  pre- 
vents the  mischief  of  dragging  into  public  view,  and  even 
into  the  highest  degree  of  publicity,  those  whose  exercises 
are  immature,  and  perhaps  transient.  And  it  avoids  the 
danger,  which  to  many,  and  especially  to  young  people, 


316 


NEW  MEASURES. 


may  be  very  formidable  ; — I  mean  the  danger  of  being  inflat- 
ed by  becoming  objects  of  public  attention,  and  by  be- 
ing forthwith  addressed  and  announced,  as  is  too  often  the 
case,  as  undoubted  '  converts.'  Surely  the  incipient  ex- 
ercise; of  the  awakened  and  convinced,  ought  to  be  charac- 
terized by  much  calm  self-examination,  and  much  serious,  re- 
tired, closet  work.  If  there  be  any  whose  impressions  are 
so  slight  and  transient  that  they  cannot  be  safely  permitted  to 
wait  until  the  next  evening  ;  it  will  hardly  be  maintained  that 
such  persons  are  prepared  to  '  commit  themselves'  by  pub- 
licly taking  an  anxious  seat.  And  if  there  be  any  whose 
vanity  would  dispose  them  to  prefer  pressing  forward  to 
such  a  seat  in  the  presence  of  a  great  assembly,  to  meeting 
their  pastor  and  a  few  friends  in  a  more  private  manner,  the 
Church,  I  apprehend,  can  promise  herself  little  comfort  from 
the  multiplication  of  such  members. 

"  I  have  just  said,  that,  among  those  who  came  forward 
on  such  an  extemporaneous  invitation,  I  should  expect  to 
find  the  sanguine,  the  self-confident,  the  superficially  inform- 
ed and  exercised,  as  a  matter  of  course.  On  a  late  occa- 
sion, and  in  a  house  of  worship,  not  very  far  distant  from 
this  place,  when,  after  a  solemn  discourse,  a  request  was 
made  that  all  who  were  anxious,  or  resolved  to  attend  to 
their  spiritual  interests,  should  immediately  arise  and  signify 
their  determination  ;  the  first  person  that  arose  was  a  young 
man,  in  whom  the  odour  of  strong  drink  was  very  offensive  ; 
who  was  evidently  more  than  half  drunk  at  the  time  ;  and 
who  never,  before  or  afterwards,  manifested  any  serious  con- 
cern on  the  subject.  In  another  place,  and  on  another  occa- 
sion, when  a  similar  request  was  made,  the  only  person  that 
arose  was  a  woman  of  very  dubious  character,  who  is  not 
supposed,  I  believe,  by  any  one,  to  have  been,  either  then, 
or  since,  under  any  thing  that  deserves  to  be  called  real 


NEW  MEASURES. 


317 


anxiety  of  mind.  The  great  Searcher  of  hearts  is  my 
witness,  that  I  do  not  mention  these  facts  for  the  purpose  of 
casting  any  unfair  odium  on  the  practice  to  which  I  refer ; 
but  merely  for  the  purpose  of  exemplifying  the  principles 
which  I  wish  to  inculcate,  and  of  showing  that  the  dangers 
which  I  deprecate  are  not  the  mere  phantoms  of  a  disorder- 
ed fancy. 

"  In  fine,  I  suppose  the  truth  concerning  both  '  camp-meet- 
ings,' and  '  anxious  seats'  to  be  about  this :  That  however 
useful  they  may  have  really  been  in  few  cases,  of  very  pecu- 
liar character  ;  and  however  they  may  have  appeared  to  some 
honest  but  ardent  minds,  to  operate  favorably  in  a  still  great- 
er number  of  cases  ;  yet,  as  means  of  stated  and  promiscu- 
ous use,  or,  in  fact,  as  means  to  be  used  at  all,  unless  in  very 
special  circumstances,  they  are  eminently  adapted  to  gener- 
ate fanaticism  ;  to  give  a  taste  for  ostentatious  display  in  the 
service  of  the  sanctuary  ;  to  favour  the  rapid  multiplication 
of  superficial,  ignorant,  untrained  professors  of  religion ; 
and  to  prepare  the  way  for  almost  every  species  of  disorder. 

"  I  have  been  acquainted  with  more  than  one  Church  in 
which  the  extemporaneous  mode  of  introducing  members,  of 
which  I  am  speaking,  has  been  extensively  practised.  And 
I  must  say,  the  result  has  been  in  no  degree  adapted  to 
recommend  the  practice.  The  great  numbers  thus  added 
made  a  most  animating  figure  in  the  religious  periodicals  of 
the  day;  but,  after  a  year  or  two,  a  large  portion  of  them 
were  not  to  be  found.  '  Their  goodness,  like  the  morning 
cloud  and  the  early  dew,'  had  passed  away.  They  had,  in 
a  great  measure,  withdrawn  from  the  house  of  God,  and  from 
all  attendance  on  sealing  ordinances  ;  and  needed  as  much  as 
ever  to  be  gathered  in  from  the  '  highways  and  hedges,'  and 
to  be  made  the  subjects  of  a  new  conversion.  The  truth  is, 
any  plan,  in  the  house  of  God,  for  separating  the  precious 


318 


NEW  MEASURES. 


and  the  vile ;  for  drawing  a  line  between  the  Church  and 
the  world,  which  does  not  provide  for  an  intelligent  and  de- 
liberate, as  well  as  serious  entrance  into  the  body  of  Christ; 
which  does  not  make  some  good  degree  of  knowledge  as 
well  as  feeling  necessary  in  the  candidate  for  admission; 
however  it  may  gratify  one  whose  '  ruling  passion'  is  to  mul- 
tiply professed  converts  to  the  greatest  possible  extent;  and 
however  plausibly  it  may  appear  in  the  public  journals  of  the 
day  ;  will  disclose  miserable  results  in  the  end,  as  to  any 
genuine  building  up  of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom. 

"  But  I  will  not  run  the  risk  of  wearying  your  patience 
by  farther  enlarging  on  this  subject.  I  shall,  therefore,  after 
two  or  three  general  remarks,  which  appear  to  me  to  be  sug- 
gested by  the  foregoing  facts,  close  this  long  letter. 

"  The  first  remark  is,  that  there  is  a  striking  similarity  in 
the  disorders  which  have  attended  and  maned  revivals  of 
religion  in  all  ages.  As  in  doctrine,  what  is  thought  by 
many  a  new  opinion,  is  frequently  found,  upon  inquiry,  no- 
thing more  than  the  revival  of  an  error  long  ago  exploded  ; — 
so  in  measures  of  practical  disorder,  what  wears  to  many 
all  the  attraction  of  novelty,  is  a  repetition — perhaps  the 
fiftieth  time — of  some  old  contrivance  for  producing  a  sud- 
den and  strong  impression  on  the  feelings  of  a  popular  as- 
sembly. In  fact,  as  real  religion  is  the  same  in  all  ages,  so 
its  counterfeits  are  the  same  ;  human  nature  is  the  same  ; 
and  the  symptoms  and  morbid  results  of  enthusiasm,  super- 
stition and  fanaticism  are  substantially  the  same.  We  need 
not  be  surprized,  then,  to  find  ancient  irregularities  so  remark- 
ably resembling  the  modern.  We  have  seen  that  when- 
ever masses  of  men  became  excited,  and  especially  when  this 
excitement  seized  the  minds  of  those  who  had  been  bred 
in  ignorance  and  thoughtlessness ; — as  they  were  brought 
into  a  new  world  ;  so  they  were  apt  to  think,  as  a  matter  of 


NEW  MEASURES. 


319 


course,  that  some  new  and  bold  measures  must  be  adopted  ; 
that  exigencies  which  are  as  old  as  human  nature,  but  which 
appear  to  them  new,  call  for  new  modes  of  proceeding;  and 
that  the  counsels  of  age  and  experience,  like  the  exploded 
theories  of  by  gone  days,  are  no  longer  seasonable  or  ade- 
quate. Hence  the  inordinate  love  of  novel  contrivances  for 
arresting  the  popular  attention,  and  impressing  the  popular 
mind  ;  the  spirit  of  rash  and  uncharitable  denunciation ;  the 
remarkable  fact,  that,  in  all  ages,  young,  and,  of  course,  in- 
experienced ministers,  have  commonly  taken  the  lead,  and 
discovered  the  most  headstrong  obstinacy  in  commencing 
and  pursuing  measures  of  an  innovating  character  ;  a  tend- 
ency to  undervalue  the  settled  order  of  the  Church,  and  to 
usurp  the  functions  of  the  sacred  office  ;  yielding  the  mind 
to  impulses  and  enthusiastic  impressions  ;  denouncing  all 
who  refuse  to  concur  in  these  things  as  graceless  formalists  ; 
encouraging  females  to  take  the  lead  in  social  prayer  ;  call- 
ing upon  penitents  to  make  ■public  confession  of  their  private 
sins,  as  indispensable  to  forgiveness,  and  spiritual  prosperity; 
claiming  to  have  a  gift,  unknown  to  others,  of  promoting 
genuine  revivals,  to  be  the  only  real  friends  of  true,  spirit- 
ual religion  ; — These  are  some  of  the  fruits  of  human  cor- 
ruption which  attended  and  marred  revivals  of  religion  cen- 
turies ago  ;  and  which  have  appeared  every  few  years  since, 
in  similar  cnnnection,  and  with  endless  repetition.  It  is  an 
undoubted  fact,  that  most  of  those  well  meant  irregularities, 
on  which  some  truly  pious  people  now  look  with  approba- 
tion and  interest,  as  means"  pre-eminently  adapted  for  pro- 
moting religion,  have  been  confidently  proposed,  tried,  found 
in  the  end  to  work  badly,  and  exploded,  over  and  over  again; 
— and  yet  there  are  those  who  still  dream  that  they  can  be 
made  to  accomplish  what  all  experience  has  pronounced  to 
be  impossible. 


320 


NEW  MEASURES. 


"  The  second  remark  which  I  would  make,  as  the  result 
of  the  whole,  is,  that  as  we  may  confidently  take  for  granted 
that  enlightened  and  stable  Christians  will  not  be  shaken, 
either  in  their  faith  or  hope,  by  the  occasional  and  even  promi- 
nent exhibition  of  these  disorders  in  connection  with  revi- 
vals of  religion ;  so  it  is  important  to  put  inquirers  on  their 
guard  against  '  stumbling  at  this  stumbling  stone.'  Some, 
when  they  see  what  claims  to  be  religion,  and  even  a  genu- 
ine and  precious  revival  of  religion,  tarnished  by  manage- 
ment, or  extravagances  which  they  cannot  approve,  are  apt 
hastily  to  conclude,  that  vital  piety,  and  revivals  of  religion 
are  all  a  dream.  I  fear  that  this  fatal  delusion  is  often 
adopted  ;  and  cannot  but  also  fear  that  the  disorders  which 
often  attend  revivals  frequently  minister  to  it.  But  it  is  a 
delusion.  The  very  existence  of  counterfeits,  shows  that 
there  is  true  coin.  In  every  department  of  affairs,  temporal 
or  spiritual,  in  which  men  are  called  to  act,  they  discover 
their  imperfection.  The  Bible  teaches  us  to  expect  this. 
And  if  we  did  not  find  it  so,  the  Bible  representation  of 
human  nature  would  not  be  verified.  When,  therefore,  any 
are  tempted  to  doubt  the  reality  or  the  importance  of  what 
are  called  by  intelligent  Christians,  revivals  of  religion,  be- 
cause they  have  been  often  tarnished  by  unhappy  admixtures 
or  accompaniments ;  they  adopt  a  conclusion  which  does  as 
little  credit  to  their  scriptural  knowledge,  and  their  historical 
reading,  as  it  does  to  their  Christian  experience.  The  work 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  in  renovating  and  sanctifying  the  heart, 
is  the  glory  and  hope  of  the  Church.  That  there  should  be 
seasons  in  which  this  work  is  made  to  appear  with  peculiar 
lustre  and  power,  so  entirely  falls  in  with  all  the  works  and 
ways  of  God,  that  the  only  wonder  is,  that  any  one  who 
reads  the  New  Testament,  or  looks  abroad  on  the  face  of 
Christian  society,  should  cherish  a  remaining  doubt.  And 


NEW  MEASURES. 


321 


although  the  Spirit  is  a  divine  Person,  and  all  his  influences 
infinitely  pure  and  holy  ;  yet,  when  we  recollect  that  its  sub- 
jects are  sinful  men,  who  remain,  after  they  become  the  sub- 
jects of  his  power,  but  imperfectly  sanctified  ;  and  that  those 
who  preside  over  the  dispensation  of  the  various  means  of 
grace,  are  also  sinful,  fallible  men ; — though  we  may  mourn 
and  weep,  we  certainly  cannot  wonder,  that  marks — sad 
marks  of  our  weakness  and  fallibility  should  appear  in  our 
most  precious  seasons,  and  in  our  holiest  services. 

"  The  last  remark  with  which  I  would  trouble  you,  is,  that 
we  ought  to  guard  against  undertaking  to  condemn,  as  of 
course  lacking  piety,  those  who  favour  some  or  all  of  the 
disorders  to  which  reference  has  been  made.  We  have  seen 
that  one  of  the  characteristics  which  seldom  fail  to  mark 
those  brethren,  is  a  disposition  to  anathematize  as  unfaithful 
or  graceless,  all  who  cannot  adopt  their  views,  and  pursue 
their  plans.  It  is  important  that  we  guard  against  imitating 
this  unworthy  example.  While  we  avoid,  with  sacred  care, 
all  participation  in  their  faults  ;  while  we  bear  testimony 
faithfully  and  openly  against  whatever  we  deem  unfriendly 
to  the  cause  of  genuine  religion  ;  let  us  remember  that  some 
zealous  and  active  servants  of  Jesus  Christ ;  brethren  whose 
piety  we  cannot  doubt,  and  whose  usefulness  we  can  have 
no  disposition  to  undervalue  or  abridge ; — have  appeared, 
for  a  time,  as  the  patrons  of  these  mistakes.  Let  us  hon- 
our their  piety,  rejoice  in  their  usefulness,  forgive  their 
mistakes,  and  pray  that  they  may  be  brought  to  more  cor- 
rect views. 

"  That  you  and  I,  my  dear  friend,  may  have  grace  given 
us  to  love  and  promote,  with  our  whole  hearts,  genuine  re- 
vivals of  religion,  and  to  guard  against  every  thing  which 
tends  to  impede  or  mar  them ;  and  that  we  may  speedily 
enjoy  the  unspeakable  pleasure  of  seeing  the  power  of  the 
41 


322 


NEW  MEASURES. 


Gospel  in  its  choisest  influences  pervade  our  land,  and  the 
world; — is  the  unfeigned  prayer  of  your  affectionate  brother 
in  Christ. 

«  SAMUEL  MILLER. 

"  Rev.  W.  B.  Sprague,  D.  D. 

"  Princeton,  March  8,  1832." 

I  have  presented  the  foregoing  extracts  and  letters  on  the 
subject  of  New  Measures,  for  several  substantial  reasons. 
1.  Because  it  is  of  the  greatest  importance  that  the  true 
character  and  results  of  the  religious  excitements  produced 
by  such  machinery  should  be  better  understood.  2.  Because 
the  Methodists  mainly  rely  on  them  for  the  propagation  of 
their  Arminian  religion  and  for  the  purpose  of  making  pros- 
elytes from  orthodox  churches.  3.  Because,  within  the  last 
year  or  two,  other  than  Methodist  churches  in  this  city  have 
adopted  these  measures  and  are  now  employing  them,  to  the 
ultimate  injury,  as  we  believe,  of  their  true  interests  and  to 
the  damage  of  the  general  cause  of  true  Christianity.  4.  In 
order  more  effectually  to  vindicate  ourselves  against  the 
charge  of  hostility  to  genuine  revivals  of  religion  and  to 
justify  more  fully  our  steady  and  determined  refusal  to  em- 
ploy the  same  specious  but  really  destructive  apparatus. 
And  I  have  preferred  to  exhibit  the  opinions  and  experience 
of  the  writers  whom  I  have  quoted,  to  show  that  some  of 
the  wisest,  most  distinguished,  pious  and  useful  ministers  in 
our  country  are  equally  decided  in  their  disapprobation  of 
such  spurious  excitements  and  the  measures  by  which  they 
are  effected. 

But  while  we  cannot  but  disapprove  of  such  popular  com- 
motions on  the  subject  of  religion,  produced,  not  by  the 
Spirit  of  God,  but  by  the  contrivances  and  expedients  of 
men,  we  most  sincerely  and  earnestly  desire  the  promotion 


NEW  .MEASURES. 


323 


of  true  revivals,  and  (he  genuine  conversion  of  our  fellow 
men.  And  in  order  to  this,  all  orthodox  Christians  and 
churches  should  be  diligent  in  the  use  of  God's  appointed 
means,  and  unceasing  in  their  prayers  for  the  quickening, 
sanctifying,  enlightening  and  renewing  influence  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  It  would,  indeed,  be  far  happier,  if  Christ- 
ians were  so  to  cultivate  the  graces  of  the  Spirit,  and  per- 
petually and  increasingly  abound  in  every  good  word  and 
work,  as  never  to  need  what  are  called  revivals,  and  which 
commonly  imply  the  necessity  of  their  resuscitation  from  a 
criminal,  shameful  and  unspeakably  injurious  state  of  relig- 
ious declension,  apathy  and  unfruitfulness.  And  every 
Christian  church  should  aim  at  maintaining  such  a  steady, 
habitual,  and  growing  state  of  usefulness  and  piety.  But 
when  individual  Christians  or  churches  have  fallen  into  a 
condition  of  supineness  or  spiritual  indifference — when  their 
Christian  graces  have  become  languid  and  comparatively 
dead — when  formalism  takes  the  place  of  spiritual  and  hearty 
devotion — and  the  means  of  grace  cease  to  edify  the  people 
of  God,  or  to  effect,  instrumentally,  the  conversion  of  sin- 
ners,— then,  surely,  there  is  need — most  urgent  need,  for  a 
real  revival  of  religion  ;  and  both  pastor  and  people  should 
labour  and  pray  with  unceasing  zeal  until  it  is  obtained.  In 
such  an  extremity,  however,  let  them  not  seek  to  be  wiser 
than  God  ;  or  dare  to  add  to  all  their  other  sins,  the  enor- 
mous crime  of  contemning  the  ordinances  and  means  of  His 
appointing.  Rather  let  them  confess  their  past  remissness  ; 
and  begin,  with  all  diligence,  humility,  penitence  and  prayer, 
to  use  them  in  accordance  with  the  will  of  their  Master  in 
heaven.  And  if  they  will  thus  employ  them,  perseveringly, 
they  will  assuredly  find  (hat  they  have  lost  none  of  their  di- 
vine efficacy  or  power — that  they  are  still  sufficient,  with  the 
blessing  of  God,  to  re-animate,  strengthen,  comfort  and  ed~ 


324 


NEW  MEASURES. 


ify  believers  ;  and  that  they  are  still  mighty,  through  God,  to 
the  illumination,  conviction  and  saving  conversion  of  sin- 
ners. 

The  truth  is,  orthodox  Christians  do  not  do  justice  either 
to  themselves  or  to  the  cause  they  have  espoused  ;  and  hence 
the  contempt  into  which  the  scriptural  means  of  grace  some- 
times fall.  These  means  are  used  often  with  such  compar- 
ative apathy  and  inactivity — with  so  little  of  the  spirit  of 
true  devotion  and  Christian  zeal — and  are  accompanied  with 
so  little  prayer  and  active  personal  efforts  for  the  conversion 
of  souls,  that  it  is  no  wonder  they  should  be  regarded  by 
many  as  inefficient  or  inadequate.  How  seldom,  for  exam- 
ple, do  orthodox  Christians  manifest  a  tithe  of  the  activity 
and  zeal  with  which  enthusiasts  and  fanatics  ply,  from  day 
to  day  and  from  week  to  week,  their  various  human  expe- 
dients and  contrivances  !  How  seldom  do  orthodox  Christ- 
ians manifest  as  much  zeal  in  endeavouring  to  bring  their 
neighbours  to  hear  the  truth  expounded  and  enforced,  as 
many  others  do  in  persuading  them  to  hear  the  truth  per- 
verted, caricatured  and  maligned  !  How  seldom  do  they 
make  as  earnest  efforts  to  persuade  their  friends  and  acquaint- 
ances to  come  to  Christ,  as  some  others  do  to  get  them  to 
go  up  to  the  "  altar"  or  "  anxious  seat!"  And  if  orthodox 
Christians  will  continue  thus  to  slight  the  means  of  grace 
which  God  has  wisely  and  graciously  appointed — if  they 
will  thus  persist  in  perverting  and  abusing  them,  they  need 
not  wonder  that  their  souls  are  unedified  and  sinners  uncon- 
verted : — only  let  them  not  ascribe  these  results  to  any 
imaginary  imperfection  or  inefficiency  in  the  means  them- 
selves, but  to  their  own  negligence  and  wickedness  and 
folly  : — let  them  at  once  confess  and  bewail  their  sins,  and 
begin  to  use  the  means  ordained  of  God  in  the  right  spirit, 
with  becoming  interest,  unceasing   activity,  importunate 


NEW  MEASURES 


325 


prayer,  and  steady  perseverance,  and  they  will  soon  realize 
in  themselves,  and  observe  in  others  around  them,  the  hap- 
piest results.  Is  not  this  our  duty  ?  Do  we  not  owe  it  to 
God — to  ourselves — to  tie  souls  of  others — to  the  precious 
cause  of  truth  and  scriptural  holiness  ?  O,  my  brethren,  let 
us  not  give  occasion  to  any,  by  our  negligence,  apathy,  and 
want  of  enlightened  zeal,  to  undervalue  the  power  of  Divine 
truth  or  the  efficacy  of  God's  appointed  means  of  grace ! 
We  profess  to  be  the  friends  of  true  revivals  of  religion,  let 
us  then  show,  by  our  conduct,  that  we- do  earnestly  pray  and 
labour  for  their  promotion.  We  profess  to  believe  that  the 
ordinary  means  of  grace  are,  with  God's  blessing,  abundant- 
ly sufficient  for  every  emergency,  let  us  then  evince  our  sin- 
cerity, by  practically  using  and  employing  them  for  our  own 
spiritual  profit  and  the  salvation  of  the  souls  of  others. 
Thus  shall  we  not  only  experience,  and  accomplish,  by  the 
favour  of  God,  the  greatest  possible  amount  of  real  good, 
but  also  most  effectually  show  unto  our  beloved  but  erring 
brethren  "a  more  excellent  way." 

The  observations  just  made,  I  would  especially  commend 
to  the  beloved  people  of  my  charge.  You  know  that  they 
are  in  exact  accordance  with  the  instructions  of  my  whole 
pastoral  life.  I  have  always  endeavoured  to  guard  you 
against  formalism,  as  well  as  against  fanaticism — and  I  again 
protest  against  the  necessity  of  being  frozen  to  death,  be- 
cause we  are  averse  to  being  burnt  to  death.  I  abhor  a  mere 
formal  and  heartless  service  ;  and  insist  upon  the  necessity 
of  spirituality  and  zeal  in  religion.  It  does  not  follow,  that 
because  we  are  opposed  to  spurious  excitements,  we  are, 
therefore,  opposed  to  genuine  revivals  of  religion.  It  does 
not  follow,  that  because  we  are  hostile  to  the  use  of  certain 
measures  of  man's  devising,  that  therefore  we  are  opposed  to 
the  use  of  any  means  at  all  for  the  promotion  of  true  religion, 


326 


NEW  MEASURES. 


or  friendly  to  the  negligent  or  formal  use  of  such  as  God  has 
ordained.  By  no  means : — It  is,  by  the  grace  of  God,  our 
earnest  desire,  as  it  has  been  our  constant  aim,  to  guard  your 
souls  against  every  hurtful  error  and  evil  practice;  and  to  cul- 
tivate within  ynu  a  steady  and  healthful  principle  of  spirit- 
ual life.  I  am  aware  that  some,  either  from  culpable  igno- 
rance, or  selfish  sectarian  purposes,  have  endeavoured  to 
disparage  your  Christian  character,  as  they  do  in  fact  that  of 
every  church  not  of  their  communion.  But  without  saying 
what  might  in  truth  be  said  in  commendation  of  you  as  a 
body,  let  me  rather  exhort  you,  beloved,  to  continue,  by  the 
help  of  God,  not  to  deserve  such  unjust  and  uncharitable 
detraction.  Yea,  remember,  that  whatever  attainments  you 
may  have  made,  and  however  useful  you  may  have  been, 
there  is,  undoubtedly,  room  for  further  improvement  and 
increased  exertion  in  behalf  of  sinners  yet  unconverted  in 
your  midst.  I  entreat  you,  by  the  love  of  Christ,  to  increase 
your  diligence  in  the  use  of  God's  appointed  means  of  grace 
and  to  abound  yet  more  and  more  in  every  good  word  and 
work.  And  this  I  would  have  you  do,  not  in  the  spirit  of 
unhallowed  rivalry,  or  with  an  unsanctified  and  fanatical  zeal, 
but  with  all  lowliness  of  mind,  and  from  a  sincere  desire  to 
promote  the  glory  of  God  in  your  own  salvation  and  that  of 
others. 


CONCLUSION. 


In  view  of  what  has  been  said,  in  the  foregoing  pages, 
respecting  the  polity  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  is 
it  not  obviously  important  that  the  attention  of  the  public 
should  be  more  generally  and  seriously  directed  to  its  exam- 
ination ?  It  is  a  perfect  anomaly  in  our  protestant  and  re- 
publican country  ;  and  is,  in  our  conscientious  and  deliberate 
judgment,  dangerous  in  its  tendency  to  the  interests  of  civil 
and  religious  liberty.  Other  Christian  denominations  have 
hitherto  occupied  themselves,  almost  exclusively,  in  defend- 
ing their  respective  churches  against  the  incessant  and  often 
violent  assaults  of  Methodists ;  and,  in  consequence,  the 
system  of  Methodism  itself,  is  comparatively  but  little  un- 
derstood by  the  community  at  large,  and  even  by  multitudes 
within  its  own  pale.  The  time  has  come,  however,  when 
that  ecclesiastical  system  must  be  more  generally  and  tho- 
roughly investigated  and  exposed.  Their  growing  numbers 
and  wealth  have  served  already,  in  part,  to  develope  the 
actual  tendency  of  their  aristocratical  government ;  and  some 
of  them  have  begun  to  manifest  such  a  degree  of  arrogance, 
as  must  insure  a  more  general  and  close  examination  of  the 
sources  of  their  proud  and  domineering  power.  And  although 
in  consequence  of  the  piety  and  patriotism  of  many  of  their 
clergy  and  laity,  the  evil  tendency  of  their  ecclesiastical  sys- 
tem has  been,  as  yet,  but  partially  developed,  there  is  much 
reason  to  fear  that  its  deteriorating,  corrupting,  and  destruc- 
tive influence  will  increasingly  operate,  to  the  imminent  haz- 
ard, eventually,  not  only  of  spiritual  piety,  but  also  of  civil 


328 


CONCLUSION. 


or  political  freedom.  It  is  therefore  the  duty  of  every  Christ- 
ian and  patriot  in  the  land — and  especially  of  the  leading 
politicians  and  statesmen  of  our  country — to  turn  their  at- 
tention seriously  to  this  subject.  Lei  them  remember  the 
inseparable  connexion  between  religious  and  civil  liberty, 
and  recall  the  mournful  lessons  of  the  ages  that  are  past, 
and  they  will  at  once  perceive  the  dangerous  tendency  of 
aristocratic  Methodism.  Let  them  examine  their  Book  of 
Discipline  for  themselves,  and  say  whether  the  despotic 
principles  of  ecclesiastical  government,  adopted  by  the  clergy 
of  that  sect,  and  imposed  upon  that  people,  are  not  utterly 
irreconcilable  with  the  character  of  our  free  political  Con- 
stitution and  Government,  and  incompatible  with  the  genius 
of  our  republican  institution^  ?  Let  them  answer,  after  due 
examination,  whether  such  a  degree  of  irresponsible  and  des- 
potic power  as  is  possessed  by  the  Methodist  clergy,  connect- 
ed as  it  is  with  the  control  of  so  much  and  rapidly  accumu- 
lating wealth,  is  not  highly  dangerous,  in  its  legitimate  ten- 
dency and  probable  ultimate  results,  to  the  civii  and  relig- 
ious liberty  of  these  United  States  ?  Let  them  particular- 
ly observe,  the  manner  in  which  the  Methodist  clergy  are 
trained,  and  the  surveillance  which  they  have  assumed  over 
each  individual  member  connected  with  their  church  ;  and 
judge  what  such  a  system  is  adapted  to  effect,  in  the  hands 
of  some  such  ambitious  spirits  as  have  arisen  in  different 
ages  that  are  past.  To  show  how  well  adapted  this  sys'tem 
is  to  accomplish  the  evil  purposes  of  ambition  and  tyranny, 
under  the  direction  and  control  of  wicked  and  designing 
men,  such  as  have  often  acquired  the  ascendency  during  the 
past  ages  of  the  church,  I  will  subjoin  the  following  extracts 
from  the  series  of  articles,  (referred  to  in  a  former  part  of 
this  work,)  on  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  in  the  Chris- 
tian Intelligencer  of  New  York. — 


CONCLUSION. 


329 


"  The  manner  of  entering  the  ministry  and  of  ascending 
into  the  Episcopal  Chair. 

"  We  may  trace,  in  thought,  a  minister  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  through  the  successive  stages  of  his  ad- 
vancement, from  his  reception  into  the  society,  to  his  invest- 
iture with  Episcopal  authority.  He  becomes  a  member  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  by  joining  a  class.  He 
attends  class-meetings  and  love-feasts,  quarterly-meetings 
and  camp-meetings,  watch-nights  and  prayer-meetings,  and 
sings,  and  prays,  and  shouts,  and  while  others  '  fall  from 
grace'  he  perseveres,  and  his  fervency  attracts  the  notice  of 
the  preacher  in  charge.  The  preacher  makes  him  a  class- 
leader  ;  he  is  placed  to  watch  over  souls,  to  instruct  and  re- 
prove ;  in  the  Quarterly  Conference,  and  on  other  occasions, 
he  comes  in  contact  with  superior  authorities.  Thus  his 
fidelity,  his  zeal,  his  devotedness  to  the  doctrines  and  dis- 
cipline of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  are  put  to  the  test. 
The  preacher  next  gives  him  license  to  officiate  as  an  exhort- 
er;  and  he  tries  his  talents  atpublic  speaking.  By  and  by,  he 
obtains  the  recommendation  of  the  Quarterly  Meeting  Con- 
ference, and  presents  himself  for  a  preacher's  license  to  the 
District  Conference.  In  time,  he  procures  a  recommendation 
to  the  Annual  Conference  to  be  received  on  trial  in  the  trav- 
elling connexion.  Here  he  passes  a  probation  of  two  years  ; 
and  is  then  received  as  a  preacher  in  full  connexion,  a  con- 
stituent part  of  the  great  itinerant  aristocracy. 

"  Up  to  this  period,  he  has  been  undergoing  a  preparatory 
discipline,  admirably  fitted  to  secure  from  him  a  complete 
and  absolute  devotion  to  the  corps. — At  any  time  previous 
to  his  being  received  into  full  connexion,  his  progress  might 
have  been  arrested  on  the  least  indication  of  an  insubordin- 
ate or  revolutionizing  spirit.  Any  symptom  of  a  disposition 
discordant  with  the  genius  of  Methodist  Episcopacy  might 
42 


330 


CONCLUSION. 


have  sufficed  to  warn  the  preacher  who  had  made  him  a  class- 
leader,  not  to  encourage  his  farther  promotion  ;  or  it  might 
have  warned  the  district  conference  which  had  licensed  him 
to  preach,  and  ihe  quarterly  conference  which  had  known 
all  his  manner  of  life,  not  to  put  him  forward  for  the  itiner- 
ating service.  And  while  passing  through  his  two  years' 
trial  for  admission  into  full  connexion,  any  untoward  indica- 
tion of  character,  might  have  stopped  him  there  ;  for  from 
the  beginning  the  following  information  was  given  to  him. 
'  Observe  !  taking  on  trial  is  entirely  different  from  admitting 
a  preacher  into  full  connection.  One  on  trial  may  be  either 
admitted  or  rejected,  without  doing  him  any  wrong  : — oth- 
erwise it  would  be  no  trial  at  all.  Let  every  one  that  has 
the  charge  of  a  circuit  explain  this  to  those  who  are  on  trial.' 
Doct.  and  Dis.  of  M.  E.  Ch.,  chap.  I.,  sec.  8,  ed.  of  1828. 
By  going  through  so  long  and  so  strict  an  apprenticeship,  he 
is  trained  as  well  as  tested  ;  he  gets  thoroughly  imbued  with 
the  spirit  of  the  corps  ;  the  interests  of  Methodist  Episco- 
pacy become  identified  with  his  own  ;  the  idea  of  being  one 
of  the  number  who  govern  a  large  body  of  people,  turning 
them  to  what  point  they  please,  is  blended  with  every  other 
image  in  his  mind  ;  and  he  learns  to  feel  that  it  is  no  small 
thing  to  participate  in  the  power,  which  sways  all  the  inter- 
ests of  this  great  and  united  denomination. 

"  Even  at  the  point  of  elevation  to  which  we  have  now 
traced  him,  he  cannot  cease  to  remember  that  his  power  per- 
tains to  him,  not  as  an  individual,  but  as  an  unit  in  a  mighty 
combination  ;  and  that  though  while  he  acts  with  that  com- 
bination he  can  do  much,  yet  if  he  acts  against  it  or  with- 
out it,  he  can  do  nothing.  He  cannot  but  be  conscious  that 
any  disposition  towards  independence, — any  thing  that  looks 
like  democracy,  any  thing  that  excites  suspicion  on  the  part 
of  conference,  or  bishop,  or  presiding  elder,  may  easily  make 


CONCLUSION. 


331 


his  situation  so  uncomfortable  and  so  hopeless  of  progress, 
that  he  will  be  glad  to  forsake  it  and  locate.  But  after  so 
long  a  probation,  it  is  difficult  to  believe  that  he  can  need  the 
pressure  of  such  motives  to  keep  him  in  his  place  ;  he  has 
the  genuine  spirit ;  he  is  wholly  a  friend  to  Methodist  Epis- 
copacy. He  passes  safely  through  the  successive  ordina- 
tions by  which  he  is  made  deacon  and  elder;  he  sits  in  the 
conferences  annual  and  general ;  he  wins  the  favour  of  his 
bishop.  He  rises  to  the  power  of  a  presiding  elder;  he 
watches  over  a  district;  he  inspects  and  directs  the  proceed- 
ings of  preachers  and  societies  or  classes ;  he  presides,  per- 
haps, in  an  annual  conference.  In  the  end,  perhaps,  he 
rises  to  a  bishop's  chair  ;  and  though  he  wears  no  mitre  and 
no  robes  of  greatness ;  and  though  the  dignitaries  of  some 
other  churches  may  smile  at  his  lack  of  external  splendour, 
and  may  despise  him  for  the  '  bend  sinisters'  in  his  Episco- 
pal escutcheon  ;  he  wields  an  actual  and  effective  power 
which  many  a  right  reverend  prelate,  glorying  in  the  unin- 
terrupted succession  of  his  official  genealogy,  might  be 
strongly  tempted  to  envy. — Christ.  Spec,  num.  III. — Doct. 
andDiscip.  of  Meth.  Ch.,  ed.  1828,  chap.  I.,  sees.  4,  5,  6, 
7,  8,  9. 

"  What  powerful  worldly  motives  are  presented  to  young 
men  of  talents  to  enter  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church? 
With  but  few  exceptions  those  who  enter  the  ministry  in 
that  denomination,  so  far  from  making  their  pecuniary  situa- 
tion worse,  or  increasmg  their  hardships,  better  their  condi- 
tions, and  enter  into  a  circle  which  they  had  not  access  to 
before,  nor  never  would  have  had,  but  for  their  ministerial 
character.  These  considerations  being  superadded  to  the 
overgrown  power  held  by  the  travelling  preachers,  present 
strong  temptations  to  aspiring  young  men  to  enter  the  min- 
istry in  that  sect,  and  to  enter  it  too,  from  other  motives  than 


33'2 


CONCLUSION. 


winning  souls  to  Jesus  Christ.  We  may  therefore  ask,  what 
kind  of  moral  policy  can  be  expected  from  such  a  ministry 
with  such  power,  when  interest  shall  be  involved  ? 

"  Classes  and  Class- Leaders. 
"  1  There  are  about  twelve  persons  in  a  class.' — '  There  is 
only  one  condition  previously  required  of  those  who  desire 
admission  into  these  societies,  a  desire  to  flee  from  the  wrath 
to  come  !'  The  first  six  months  after  a  convert  has  joined  a 
class,  are  generally  considered  as  so  many  months  of  proba- 
tion in  order  to  full  membership  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church. — During  that  term  he  is  frequently  interrogated  by 
his  leader  in  class-meetings  respecting  the  state  of  his  soul ; 
and  frequent  inquiry  is  made  by  his  leader  concerning  his 
walk  and  conversation.  If  it  appears  at  the  end  of  his 
probationary  term  that  his  conduct  has  been  moral,  and  that 
he  has  regularly  attended  religious  meetings,  and,  if,  in  the 
opinion  of  his  leader  he  is  pious,  the  travelling  preacher  en- 
rols his  name  with  the  names  of  such  as  are  members  in 
full  connexion. — As  far  as  we  can  ascertain,  no  pains  are 
taken  by  the  itinerant  preachers  to  instruct  the  members  of  a 
class  in  the  government  of  the  church.  It  is  presumed  that 
not  more  than  one  person  in  a  hundred  who  unite  with  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  are  acquainted,  at  the  time  of 
their  reception  into  it,  with  its  peculiar  form  of  government. 
The  consequence  is  that  many  persons,  after  having  enjoyed 
membership  for  years,  on  discovering  the  nature  of  the  gov- 
ernment under  which  they  have  lived,  become  dissatisfied 
with  it,  and  leave  the  denomination.  The  fact,  that  they 
have  no  representation  in  the  Annual  and  General  Conferen- 
ces, and  consequently  no  voice  in  making  the  laws,  rules  and 
regulations  which  are  binding  on  all  the  members,  is  disgust- 
ing to  their  minds.  Though  they  are  asked  and  required  to 
contribute  of  their  substance  for  the  support  of  the  itinerancy, 


CONCLUSION. 


333 


yet  they  are  not  suffered  to  have  a  representation  in  the  law- 
making department  of*  the  denomination.  The  principle 
here  involved  is  the  same  that  sundered  the  United  States 
of  America  from  the  government  of  Great  Britain.  Taxa- 
tion, without  representation  in  the  government  from  which 
taxation  emanated,  kindled  the  indignation  of  our  fathers 
against  the  government  of  George  III.,  and  caused  them  to 
draw  their  swords ;  and  they  saw  their  country  free  and  in- 
dependent, before  their  swords  were  sheathed.  Is  tyranny 
less  odious  in  ecclesiastical  than  in  civil  matters  ? 

"  The  duty  of  a  class-leader  is  '  to  see  each  person  in  his 
class  once  a  week  at  least ;  in  order  to  inquire  how  their 
souls  prosper;  to  advise,  reprove,  comfort,  or  exhort,  as 
occasion  may  require  ;  and  to  receive  what  they  are  willing 
to  give,  towards  the  relief  of  the  preachers,  church,  and 
poor.'  Class-leaders  are  also  required  '  to  meet  the  minis- 
ters and  the  stewards  of  the  society  once  a  week  ;  in  order 
to  inform  the  minister  of  any  that  are  sick,  or  of  any  that 
walk  disorderly,  and  will  not  be  reproved ;  and  to  pay  the 
stewards  what  they  have  received  of  their  several  classes  in 
the  week  preceding.'  It  is  made  their  duty  '  at  every  other 
meeting  of  the  class  in  every  place1  to  admit  no  stranger. 
1  At  other  times  they  may;  but  the  same  person  not  above 
twice  or  thrice.'  A  strict  examination  of  each  class-leader, 
by  a  travelling  preacher,  is  to  take  place  '  at  least  once  a 
quarter'  '  concerning  his  method  of  meeting  a  class.'  It  is 
made  the  duty  of  class-leaders  to  '  converse  with  those  who 
have  charge  of  their  circuits,'  namely  the  travelling  preach- 
ers, *  frequently  and  freely.'  It  is  also  expected  that  they 
shall  '  frequently  meet  each  other's  classes  ;'  and  '  the  most 
useful'  are  enjoined  to  '  meet  the  other  classes  as  often  as 
possible.' — Doct.  and  Dis.  of  M.  E.  Ch.y  chap.  II.,  sees.  1, 
2,  4,  ed.  of  1828. 


334 


CONCLUSION. 


"  Such  inquisitorial  measures  are  admirably  calculated  to 
secure  subordination  in  all  the  classes,  and  amongst  all  the 
leaders.  There  is  nothing  like  them  in  all  the  churches  that 
are  called  Christian,  if  we  except  one  sect,  which  it  is  need- 
less to  name." 

In  view  of  the  aristocratical  principles  of  church  govern- 
ment, adopted  by  the  itinerant  clergy  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church — and  the  peculiar  measures  employed  for  the 
training  of  their  ministerial  candidates,  and  for  the  subordin- 
ation of  their  people, — I  ask  again, — Is  there  no  danger  to 
be  apprehended  to  the  civil  and  religious  liberties  of  this 
Republic  ?  They  are,  as  a  denomination,  rapidly  increasing 
in  numbers,  wealth,  and  general  influence; — what  may  not 
a  corrupted  and  ambitious  clergy  accomplish,  at  some  future 
period,  with  such  a  system  of  ecclesiastical  despotism? — 
wielded,  be  it  remembered,  exclusively  and  irresponsibly  by 
themselves  ! 

In  thus  calling  the  attention  of  the  public  to  the  polity  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  I  have  no  desire  to  excite 
undue  suspicion  against  the  present  clergy  of  that  denomi- 
nation. I  have  no  doubt  but  that,  as  yet,  the  great  body  of 
them  are  both  pious  and  patriotic,  and  sincerely  attached  to 
the  republican  government  and  institutions  of  the  country — 
nor  would  they  knowingly  favour  any  thing  inimical  to  civil 
and  religious  liberty.  But  the  ecclesiastical  system  which 
they  have  adopted,  and  the  policy  which  they  have  pursued, 
are  unquestionably  adapted  to  corrupt,  in  the  progress  of 
time,  any  body  of  men  in  the  world.  They  are  not  a  whit 
more  intelligent  or  pious  than  the  clergy  of  former  times, 
who  adopted,  from  equally  honest,  though  mistaken  views 
of  duty,  substantially  the  same  aristocratical  and  worldly 
policy — and  like  causes  will  produce  like  effects,  every  where 
and  to  the  end  of  time.    The  very  facts,  that  they  have  from 


CONCLUSION. 


335 


time  to  time  increased  their  ecclesiastical  power,  and  adopt- 
ed such  a  worldly  policy,  are  proofs  that  they  are  far  from 
being  above  the  reach  of  ambition,  pride  and  avarice — and 
if  we  are  to  believe  the  testimony  of  those  who  know  them 
best,  and  have  known  them  long,  there  has  been  a  visible 
deterioration  in  the  character  and  spirit  of  many  of  them 
already.  And  whatever  may  be  the  piety  and  patriotism  of 
the  great  mass  of  the  present  itinerant  Methodist  preachers, 
who  have  been  chiefly  employed  in  laying  the  foundation  of 
the  system,  there  is  reason  to  fear  that,  as  the  effects  of  the 
system  are  developed,  they,  or  their  successors,  will  mani- 
fest less  and  less  of  the  spirit  of  true  religion,  and  more  and 
more  of  the  unhallowed  spirit  of  the  world.  It  is  chiefly  in 
view  of  this  legitimate  tendency  of  the  system  of  aristocratic 
Methodism,  that  we  think  the  public  generally,  and  partic- 
ularly the  leading  statesmen  of  our  country,  should  turn  their 
serious  attention  to  this  subject : — and  if  convinced,  by  an 
impartial  examination,  that  its  tendency  is  inimical  to  repub- 
licanism in  the  state,  it  will  then  be  their  duty  to  warn  their 
countrymen  against  its  insidious  influence  ;  and  to  persuade 
their  fellow  citizens,  composing  the  laity  of  that  denomina- 
tion, to  insist  upon  a  reformation  which  shall  conform  their 
ecclesiastical  system  to  the  genius  and  spirit  of  our  civil 
institutions.  . 

If  we  are  asked,  what  concern  we  have  in  these  matters? 
— we  answer,  that  we  have,  as  Christians,  many  interests  in 
common — and,  as  fellow-citizens,  our  political  destinies  are 
bound  up  together.  It  deeply  concerns  us,  as  members  of 
the  Church  Catholic,  that  any  portion  of  our  Master's  King- 
dom should  be  deprived  of  its  just  and  unalienable  rights; 
— and,  as  patriots,  we  honestly  fear  the  prevalence  of  despot- 
ism in  the  Church,  as  inimical  to  the  perpetuation  of  liberty 
in  the  state.    We  know  too  well  what  were  the  disastrous 


336 


CONCLUSION. 


results  of  similar  ecclesiastical  principles  in  the  early  ages  of 
Christianity  ;  and  we  have  no  confidence  that  the  same  tree 
planted  now  and  in  this  hemisphere  will  produce  any  better 
fruits.  It  is,  therefore,  both  our  duty  and  interest  to  endeav- 
our to  avert,  if  possible,  prospective  evils,  in  which  we,  as 
well  as  our  Methodist  brethren,  may  be  unhappily  involved. 
— Can  one  member  of  the  body  of  Christ  suffer,  and  not  the 
whole?  Can  the  civil  and  religious  liberties  of  our  common 
country  be  impaired,  without  affecting  injuriously  the  rights 
and  privileges  of  all  ? 

It  is  a  matter  of  surprise,  as  well  as  deep  regret,  that  the 
clergy  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  should  ever  have 
adopted  so  anti-republican  a  system  of  church  government 
and  discipline  ;  and  that  they  should  still  continue  to  deprive 
their  people  of  the  right  of  lay-representation.  There  are, 
doubtless,  many  truly  pious  and  patriotic  men  among  them  ; 
let  such  be  induced  to  re-examine  the  fundamental  princi- 
ples of  their  ecclesiastical  system,  and  inform  themselves 
more  fully  of  the  effects  of  similar  principles  in  ancient  times 
— and  resolve,  as  Christian  ministers  and  consistent  patriots, 
to  seek  a  thorough  reformation  in  the  aristocratic  government 
of  their  church.  Why  should  you  continue  to  adhere  to 
principles  which  have  produced,  in  other  times,  consequences 
so  disastrous  to  the  church  and  the  world  ?  Why  should  you 
again  put  to  hazard  the  sacred  ark  of  civil  and  religious  free- 
dom ? — and  that,  too,  in  a  land  consecrated  to  political  and 
religious  liberty  !  Why  should  you  be  unwilling  to  grant 
your  people  the  rights  and  privileges  that  are  exercised  and 
enjoyed  by  all  their  brethren  of  other  sister  protestant  de- 
nominations in  the  land  ?  If  you  never  mean  to  abuse  your 
clerical  power — if  you  have  no  design  to  tyrannize  over  the 
heritage  of  God — if  it  is  your  purpose  to  do  no  wrong  to 
your  lay  brethren,  why  exclude  the  laity  from  all  participation 


CONCLUSION. 


^337 


in  the  legislation  of  the  church  !  It  seems  to  us,  that  the 
Methodist  clergy  owe  it  to  themselves,  as  well  as  to  their 
people,  to  grant  the  laity  at  least  a  voice  in  the  making  of 
those  laws  and  the  adoption  of  those  disciplinary  rides  and 
regulations,  to  which  they  are  amenable,  and  by  which  they 
are  ecclesiastically  governed.  Let  not  the  excellent  men 
among  the  Methodist  clergy  whom  we  now  more  particularly 
address,  repel  this  appeal  to  their  piety  and  patriotism  from 
any  unworthy  prejudice.  It  is  the  part  of  wisdom  to  be 
willing  to  be  taught  even  by  an  enemy — how  much  more  to 
heed  the  admonitions  of  a  friend — and  he  who  makes  this 
appeal  assures  you,  that  he  is  actuated,  if  he  knows  his  own 
heart,  by  no  other  feelings  than  such  as  are  perfectly  conso- 
nant with  Christian  affection  and  a  sincere  regard  for  those 
interests  which  are  alike  common  to  us  all  as  Christians  and 
men.  You  may  be  skeptical  as  to  the  alleged  injurious  ten- 
dency of  your  present  ecclesiastical  system,  and  perhaps 
may  smile  at  the  ultimate  results  predicted  ; — but  remember 
that  the  early  advocates  of  prelacy,  and  the  ancient  abettors 
of  clerical  aristocracy,  were  equally  blind  to  the  remote  but 
certain  consequences  of  the  principles  which  they  had  adopt- 
ed and  were  then  favouring.  Doubtless,  had  the  Christian 
pastors  of  the  third  and  fourth  centuries  foreseen  the  ultimate 
results  of  the  then  increasing  ambition  and  power  of  the 
clergy — had  they  been  able  to  descry  the  horrible  corrup- 
tions and  terrible  tyranny  of  subsequent  ages — had  they  per- 
ceived that  they  were  in  fact  laying  the  foundation  of  that 
awful  apostacy — the  papacy — they  would  not  only  have 
shrunk  back  from  it  with  horror,  but  they  would  have  zeal- 
ously uprooted  evjery  thing  like  clerical  aristocracy  and  pre- 
latical  usurpation  ! 

May  we  not  make  an  appeal,  also,  to  the  pious  and  patri- 
otic among  the  laity  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  ? 
43 


338 


CONCLUSION. 


If  we  are  surprised  that  the  clergy  of  your  church  should 
have  adopted  such  an  aristocratical  system  of  church  gov- 
ernment, we  are  much  more  astonished,  that  the  laymen  of 
your  denomination,  should  for  so  long  a  time  "have  tamely 
submitted  to  it  !  Have  you  ever  seriously  and  thoroughly 
examined  it  ?  Have  you  ever  reflected  upon  the  corrupting 
influence  of  irresponsible  power?  Have  you  ever  pondered 
upon  the  effects  of  the  same  principles  of  clerical  aristocracy 
in  ancient  times,  or  thought  of  the  probable  results  of  the 
same  system  upon  your  own  clergy  or  their  successors  here- 
after ?  Why  should  you  allow  yourselves  to  be  disfranchis- 
ed and  unjustly  deprived  of  the  right  of  representation  ?  In 
these  respects  you  stand  entirely  alone  in  this  free  protestant 
country — the  Papists  only  excepted — as  all  other  Protestant 
denominations  enjoy  these  unalienable  rights  and  inestimable 
privileges.  In  politics,  you  are  as  good  republicans  as  your 
neighbours,  and  would  resist  political  despotism  as  patriot- 
ically and  as  manfully  as  any.  Why,  then,  should  you  tame- 
ly submit  to  ecclesiastical  tyranny  ?  Why  should  you  allow 
your  clergy  to  assume,  exclusively,  all  power,  legislative, 
judicial,  and  executive,  without  control  or  responsibility  ? 
Why  should  you  submit  to  a  purely  clerical  government,  in 
which  you  have  no  voice  and  no  lay-representation  ?  Would 
you  allow  any  set  of  men  to  deprive  you  of  the  right  of  self- 
government  in  your  civil  or  political  affairs  ?  Would  you 
intrust,  to  any  set  of  men,  the  power  of  making  and  execut- 
ing what  laws  they  pleased,  without  responsibility  to  the 
nation  ?  Why,  then,  we  ask  again,  do  you  permit  the  cler- 
gy of  your  church  to  retain  exclusive  and  irresponsible  power 
in  ecclesiastical  affairs  ? — to  deprive  you  of  the  right  and 
privilege  of  self-government  in  the  church  ?  Are  you  inca- 
pable of  governing  yourselves  in  ecclesiastical  matters? — of 
taking  any  share  in  the  government  of  your  church  ?  Are 


CONCLUSION. 


339 


you  less  intelligent  than  any  or  all  of  your  protestant  breth- 
ren of  other  denominations?  Are  you  less  virtuous?  Why 
should  your  clergy  be  afraid  or  unwilling  to  trust  you  with  a 
proper  representation  in  the  government  of  your  church  ? 
Do  they  think  you  too  ignorant  ? — or  too  vicious?  If  neither 
the  one  nor  the  other,  why  should  they  refuse  you  rights 
which  are  enjoyed  by  every  other  protestant  church  in  the 
United  States  ?  I  aver  that  I  ask  these  questions  from  no 
disrespect — but  for  the  purpose  of  eliciting  thought — yea, 
for  the  purpose  of  exciting  your  honest  indignation!  You 
are  justly  entitled  to  the  right  of  representation,  as  protest- 
ant Christians  and  freemen  ;  and  should,  respectfully,  yet 
firmly  demand  it.  It  is  degrading  to  you  to  suffer  yourselves 
to  be  any  longer  deprived  of  rights  which  all  your  protest- 
ant neighbours  enjoy.  Yea,  your  continued  abject  submis- 
sion will,  in  all  probability,  prepare  the  way  for  the  ultimate 
slavery  of  your  posterity,  not  only  in  the  church,  but  also  in 
the  state  !  "  No  bishop,  no  king,"  was  the  shrewd  remark 
of  a  crafty  prince  : — and  civil  liberty  cannot  long  co-exist 
with  ecclesiastical  despotism.  We  grant,  that  the  great  body 
of  your  ministers  are,  at  present,  good  men,  who  would  not 
abuse  their  ecclesiastical  power  to  the  ruin  of  your  political 
freedom  ; — but  what  security  have  you  that  their  successors 
will  be  equally  pious  and  patriotic  ?  Why  hazard,  in  any 
degree,  interests  so  momentous  ! — "  The  price  of  liberty  is 
eternal  vigilance  ;" — and  if  you  are  wise  and  faithful  to  your 
duty,  both  as  Christians  and  republican  citizens,  you  will 
never  rest,  until  your  ecclesiastical  rights  are  fully  obtained 
from  your  present  aristocratical  rulers. 

I  trust  that  what  I  have  said,  relative  to  the  polity,  &c. 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  will  be  rightly  under- 
stood.   I  have  freely  animadverted  upon  what  I  consider 


340 


CONCLUSION. 


the  errors  and  faults  of  Episcopal  Methodism ;  and  hare 
plainly  exposed  some  of  the  practical  evils  which  have  re- 
sulted from  the  practice  of  many  connected  with  that  de- 
nomination;— nor  have  I  shunned  to  declare  my  honest 
conviction  in  regard  to  the  dangerous  tendency  of  the  irres- 
ponsible power  possessed  by  the  clergy  of  that  sect.  But 
I  am  very  far  from  wishing  to  disparage,  what  is  truly  pious 
and  excellent  in  that  Christian  Church  ;  or  to  detract  from 
the  real  and  extensive  good  which  that  denomination  has, 
under  God,  effected,  and  is  still  accomplishing.  There  are 
many  truly  excellent  men  in  the  ministry  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  and  thousands  of  truly  pious  Christians 
connected  with  that  communion  ; — and  I  have  no  doubt,  as 
I  have  repeatedly  said,  that  many  of  the  improprieties  and 
excesses  to  which  I  have  adverted,  are  not  approved  of  or 
countenanced  by  them.  They  hold,  moreover,  as  a  body, 
the  essential  doctrines  of  our  common  Christianity — and 
we  therefore  rejoice  in  recognizing  them  as  a  large  and  im- 
portant branch  of  the  church  of  Christ.  And  so  far  as  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  retains  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Je- 
sus— so  far  as  she  exhibits  the  spirit  of  our  common  Lord 
and  Master — so  far  as  she  is  instrumental  in  winning  souls 
to  Christ,  and  in  extending  the  Redeemer's  kingdom,  so 
far  we  give  her  the  right  hand  of  fellowship — pray  for  her 
prosperity — and  do,  yea,  and  will  rejoice  in  her  success. 

I  have  now  discharged  what  has  been  to  me  no  pleasant 
task  : — and  having  thus  furnished  the  "  proof,"  w  hich  was 
publicly  called  for,  and  repeatedly  insisted  on,  I  will  now 
cheerfully  submit  the  whole  matter  to  the  judgment  ot  the 
public.  The  truth  of  the  statements  which  I  had  made,  has 
been  established  by  their  own  Book  of  Discipline,  and  by 
historical  and  official  documentary  evidence  which  cannot 


CONCLUSION. 


341 


be  disputed  or  invalidated. — And  this  evidence  has  been 
corroborated  by  the  testimony  of  several  of  the  most  com- 
petent and  unimpeachable  witnesses  of  different  Christian 
denominations — and  by  several  of  the  most  distinguished 
adhering  ministers  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  such 
as  Bishops  Coke  and  McKendree,*  and  the  Rev.  H.  B. 
Bascom.  The  testimony  of  the  Methodist  "  Reformers" 
is,  in  my  judgment,  entitled  to  the  highest  respect  ; — but,  let 
it  be  remembered,  that  each  of  the  allegations  which  I  had 
made,  has  been  fully  proven  by  other  testimony  and  proof: 
— Indeed,  the  main  points  have  been  clearly  demonstrated, 
by  the  Book  of  Discipline  itself. 

"  Last  words,"  are  sometimes  almost  endless  : — and  as  I 
still  feel,  as  I  always  have  felt,  a  strong  repugnance  to  unne- 
cessary controversy  with  any  evangelical  protestant  church, 
I  will  now  request  my  readers — if  what  I  have  written 
should  be  further  controverted — tore-examine  the  proofs  and 
authorities  which  have  been  produced  by  me  in  substantia- 
tion of  the  allegations  which  I  had  made.  It  will,  I  know, 
be  very  easy  to  deny  their  truth,  and  not  very  difficult  to 
mystify  the  facts  in  the  case  ;  but  however  bold  the  denial, 
or  plausible  the  explanation,  the  public,  with  the  record 
and  evidence  before  them,  will  know  how  to  discriminate 
and  determine. 

*Mr.  McKendree,  is  said  lo  have  "  withdrawn,"  from  the  conference 
in  disgust,  but  only,  as  we  suppose,  on  the  particular  occasion  referred  10, 
and  temporarily.  For  he  continued  to  adhere  to  the  Church,  notwithstand- 
ing his  alleged  denunciation  cf  "  the  unwarrantable  assumptions  of  the 
conference," — and  was  subsequently  made  one  of  their  Bishops.— Such 
gross  inconsistency  shows  the  blinding  influence  of  ambition,  and  serves 
to  illustrate  the  danger  of  absolute  and  irresponsible  power;  but  it  does 
not  alter  the  truth,  nor  change  the  "  tyrannical  (or)  despotic"  nature  of 
that  ecclesiastical  government ! 


342 


CONCLUSION. 


'The  original  object  in  the  preparation  of  this  work  will 
at  least  be  accomplished,  viz: — the  vindication  of  myself 
against  the  charge,  either  of  ignorant  slander,  or  deliberate 
traduction!  ! — I  cannot  but  believe,  that  even  my  Methodist 
brethren,  will  now  be  "  satisfied"  that  I  had  not  spoken 
without  some  "  acquaintance"  with  their  ecclesiastical  sys- 
tem ;  and  that  the  proofs  and  authorities  which  have  been 
exhibited  are  at  least  sufficient  to  shield  me  from  the  horri- 
ble imputation  of  having  deliberately  borne  "  false  witness 
against  my  neighbour"  !  !  ! — For  the  rest,  I  have  very  little 
personal  concern — and  only  regret  that  it  should  have  been 
made  necessary  forme  to  say  as  much  as  I  have  said,  in  self- 
vindication  and  defence. 

After  a  temperate  and  candid  review,  which  is  the  un- 
doubted right  of  my  Methodist  brethren,  and  to  which,  cer- 
tainly, I  have  not  the  slightest  objection, — if  they  also  are 
so  disposed,  we  may  live  together  in  peace: — and  if  we  cannot 
promote  each  other's  welfare,  we  can  at  least  abstain  from 
all  attempts  to  hinder  each  other's  success.  We  differ,  it 
is  true,  upon  some  important  points  ;  but  then,  let  us  "  agree 
to  differ ;"  or,  if  we  must  expose  what  we  conscientiously 
consider  erroneous  in  each  other's  views  and  practices,  let  it 
be  done  in  the  spirit  of  the  Master.  We  worship  one  Lord 
— acknowledge  one  rule  of  faith — and  hold  in  common  the 
great  essentials  of  the  Gospel.  We  have,  as  sister  churches, 
the  same  great  objects  in  view — and  have  in  common  the 
same  enemies. — Let  us  then  cease  our  warfare  upon  each 
other  ;  and  employ  our  combined  strength  against  our  com- 
mon foes  ! 

Finally,  I  would  say  to  all  Presbyterians — and  particularly 
to  the  members  of  my  own  pastoral  charge — cultivate,  as  far 
as  possible,  a  catholic  spirit  towards  all  evangelical  protest- 


CONCLUSION. 


343 


ant  denominations  ;  and,  at  the  same  time,  an  intelligent 
and  firm  attachment  to  your  own.  Never  be  the  aggressors : 
— but  when  assailed,  defend  the  faith  of  your  fathers  with  a 
meek  but  resolute  spirit.  "  To  preserve  peace,  be  prepared 
for  war."  Study  more  thoroughly  the  doctrines  and  order 
of  your  own  church  ;  and  inform  yourselves  more  fully  re- 
specting the  principles  and  practices  of  other  sects.  Be 
always  ready  to  give  the  reason  of  the  hope  that  is  in  you ; 
and  to  show,  why  you  adhere  to  your  own  scriptural  stand- 
ards and  liberal  form  of  government  and  discipline.  If, 
unhappily,  your  Methodist  brethren  should  still  continue  to 
misrepresent,  caricature  and  malign  your  faith,  be  ready  to 
meet  them,  with  the  Word  of  God,  in  vindication  of  the 
truth.  If  they  should  still  continue  their  sectarian  efforts  to 
proselyte  you  to  their  church,  let  them  know,  at  once,  that 
you  understand  their  selfish  object — and  that  you  are  too 
well  acquainted  with  their  Arminian  errors,  and  anti-repub- 
lican government,  to  be  seduced,  by  them,  from  the  pure 
faith  and  Christian  liberty  of  the  gospel  you  profess.  And 
if  they  should  still  persist  in  disparaging  your  Christian 
character,  or  the  reputation  of  the  ministry  and  church  to 
which  you  belong,  show  the  injustice  of  such  traduction,  by 
your  holy  lives  and  conversation.  Yea,  let  even  the  secta- 
rian zeal  of  others,  only  provoke  you  to  love  and  good  works. 
Be  more  faithful,  active,  and  prayerful ;  and  the  God  of  your 
fathers  will  still  continue,  in  spite  of  all  opposition,  to  pre- 
serve, defend,  and  prosper  you. — "  But  we  are  bound  to  give 
thanks  always  to  God  for  you,  brethren  beloved  of  the  Lord, 
because  God  hath  from  the  beginning  chosen  you  to  salva- 
tion, through  sanctification  of  the  Spirit,  and  belief  of  the 
truth  :  whereunto  he  called  you  by  our  gospel,  to  the  ob- 
taining of  the  glory  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Therefore, 


344 


CONCLUSION. 


brethren,  stand  fast,  and  hold  the  traditions  which  ye 
have  been  taught,  whether  by  word,  or  our  epistle.  Now 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  himself,  and  God,  even  our  Father, 
which  hath  loved  us,  and  hath  given  us  everlasting  consola- 
tion and  good  hope  through  grace,  comfort  your  hearts, 

AND  ESTABLISH  YOU  IN  EVERY  GOOD  WORD  AND  WORK."  

2  Thess.  ii.  13—17. 


THE  END. 


